Ridge Crest Prep
by Pochacco906
Summary: Bella Swan is starting her senior year at a boarding school in LA. She's had a crush on Edward Cullen now for the past three years but has never spoken to him. Will she finally get to talk to him before they graduate? Full Summary Inside.AH/AU/Canon.
1. At Last

**Summary –** Set in Los Angeles at Ridge Crest Prep, a boarding school for the rich and famous. Bella Swan is starting her senior year. She's smart and shy and your typical normal teenage girl who just gets caught up in her daydreams. She's had a crush on the school's most popular guy, Edward Cullen, for the past three years now. But she's never spoken one word to him. Will she finally get the nerve to talk to him before the end of her senior year? Or will her shyness overcome her? What happens when three new students come to the school? Will she have the best year of her high school life? Or the worst? Or will it just fly by with her leaving off to college without ever getting to know the famous Edward Cullen?

**A/N: WARNING: There is bullying, pranks and revenge "humor" in this story. I have a crazy sense of humor so this is a warning to you now that if you CAN'T take it, DON'T read it. I don't support bullying and I don't support getting revenge ... but in this case and for this story, it's fiction, fake and totally made up. Keep in mind that reading about pranks are definitely fun to laugh about but please kids don't do any of this at home ... **

**This story will be in all BPOV. I started an EPOV companion piece to this story, titled King of Ridge Crest Prep if you'd like to read Edward's side of the story. **

**If you're not familiar with Ally McBeal, it was a TV show in the US about a lawyer and her crazy daydreaming and hallucinations. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Twilight or Ally McBeal. I do own the storyline and any characters that I make up. **

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**Chapter 1 – At Last**

Song – At Last by Etta James

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_At last_

_My love has come along _

_My lonely days over _

_And life is like a song _

The song by _Etta James_ blasted on my radio while I drove down a long two-lane country road in my white Mercedes convertible with the top down and my long brown hair whipping in the air. I glanced over to my right and saw Edward sitting next to me smiling while the sun beamed at us from above.

_Ooh At last _

_The skies above are blue _

_Well my heart was wrapped up in clover _

_The night I looked at you _

I stopped the car and we got out in front of a green meadow filled with beautiful wildflowers and cherry blossom trees. I grabbed the picnic basket from the back of the car and took Edward's hand in mine as we walked to the hill overlooking the meadow.

_I found a dream _

_That I could speak to _

_A dream that I could call my own _

_I found a thrill_

_To press my cheek to _

_A thrill that I have never known _

_Well _

I spread the blanket on the ground under a cherry tree and plopped down, opening up the picnic basket. The light breeze blew the scent of the blossoms through the air as the petals danced around us.

_You smile _

_You smile _

_Oh and then the spell was cast _

_And here we are in heaven _

_For you are mine at last _

Before I opened the picnic basket, Edward grabbed my hand into his - a perfect fit. I turned to look at him and gazed into his deep green eyes, getting lost in them. He leaned in closer to my face and I could feel his sweet breath against my skin.

_I found a dream _

_That I could speak to_

And then he finally spoke, "How much?" in a female voice.

_A dream that I _

_Could call my own _

Huh? What? I pulled back and stared at him looking at his mouth move once again saying, "How much?" in a high pitched nasally voice.

_I found a thrill-_

_(MUSIC SCREEECHH)_

I jumped and fell off my stool situated behind the cashier desk at the school's bookstore, landing with a thump. I felt my ass hit the hard tiled floor. That's going to leave a bruise.

I blinked a few times to focus before looking up to see Lauren Mallory, Queen Bee and Captain of the Cheerleading Squad at Ridge Crest Prep, and her steely grey eyes staring down at me from the other side of the counter.

"Well, how much is this? I don't have all day so hurry up!" she screamed while going back to playing with her long platinum blonde hair. Probably fake.

I stood up and brushed off my jeans. I rolled my eyes and scanned the dark blue football jersey that she threw at me. I looked at the back of the shirt and saw Edward's number, twenty six, along with his last name, CULLEN, in white capital letters.

"It's $49.99; did you want to buy this?" I asked trying to be polite as per the bookstore customer service policy.

"Yes, I'll take it and hurry up already, you're wasting my time in here," she shrieked again.

I rang up her purchase and took her money before she rushed out of the store. I sat back down on the stool, placed my elbow on the counter, and rested my chin in my right hand before zoning out again.

This is my so-called life. I daydream a lot and get lost in my thoughts. No, I haven't seen any dancing babies – yet. Besides, isn't it normal for an eighteen-year-old teenage girl to daydream?

The exchange with Mallory was definitely not supposed to happen in my daydream. But then again, any ideas that placed me with Edward, together was a figment of my imagination. None of that has happened or will ever happen.

You see I've had a huge crush on Edward Cullen for the past three years now. He's the ASB President, captain of the basketball team, quarterback of the football team, straight-A honor student, and the epitome of the popular high school jock. He's the King of Ridge Crest Prep. All the girls are in love with him and all the boys want to be him. He's like a god and everyone worships the ground he walks on.

Yep, he's my crush along with every other girl in this school. Who wouldn't crush on him?

Pathetic, Right? I know.

For the last three years of high school I've been secretly crushing on a guy that I've never met or talked to and he has no idea who I am.

Even more pathetic, right? I know. Don't rub it in.

Now… where was I… oh yeah… right about to kiss…

Just as I was getting back to the good part, I heard my name.

"Bella… Bella…"

I knew that voice anywhere. A hand flew up to my face waving in front of me interrupting my daydream yet again.

I sighed, "Yes, Jasper?" I turned to look at my handsome, blonde-hair, blue-eyed best friend standing next to me behind the counter.

And no, I don't like him. We've never had romantic feelings for each other. We've always thought of each other as brother and sister. I swear!

"Daydreaming about Cullen again, Bella?" he asked.

"No," I lied.

"Don't lie to me Bella, you're a horrible liar," he teased.

"Fine, you caught me, happy now?" I huffed and crossed my arms.

He laughed. "What did Mallory buy this time?"

"Another one of Edward's jerseys. I swear she has all of them in every color and size and has bought at least ten of each one. She's definitely his number one stalker," I said and rolled my eyes.

"What does that make you, number two?" he laughed.

I glared at him and clenched my teeth. "I do not stalk him! And you know it! I only daydream. That's all," I sighed dreamily. "I'm not like one of his fan girls! I've never been to any of his sports games and I don't own one of his jerseys, so there!"

"Yeah, but you daydream about a guy that you've never talked to before. Don't you think that's crazy?" He raised a questioning eyebrow at me.

"A girl can dream right? Besides I'm sure all of the girls at this school do the same thing, so don't hold that against me," I snapped.

"Well, senior year is starting in two weeks. It's our last year here. Are you planning to at least work up the nerve to talk to him before we go off to college?" he asked.

"Ugh, Jazz, do we have to go over this again?" I rolled my eyes at him.

I swear we've been over this a million times already. "I told you that I'm just an admirer from a far. I would never have the guts to just go up and talk to him. Besides, he'll never want to have anything to do with me. Once we're done with high school, I can go to college and not have to think about him again. He's just something nice to look at in the meantime," I said.

"Bells, I don't know why you think he won't have anything to do with you. But hey, you might just get your chance to talk to him today because he just walked into the store," he said and nodded toward the front entrance.

I glanced up to the front door and saw the school's Greek God standing there. It was like everything in life paused at that moment as he stood there in front of the door. His tousled bronze auburn hair moving from the breeze as the door silently slid closed – the doorway framing his tall 6-foot lean body. He was wearing dark jeans and a black button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. I swear he looked like a model about to get his picture taken at a photo shoot. I could see his deep green eyes light up as he scanned the room walking toward the classics section.

I broke my gaze and immediately tensed up. Even with this crazy crush that I've had for the past three years, I could never act normal around Edward. My hands would automatically start to sweat and my heart would start pounding heavily in my chest. And my face, don't even get me started on that. I'm sure it changed all different shades of red whenever he was around.

Luckily, I had never had any classes with him or I would be doomed. Our school was large enough that we had multiple classes of each course because there were so many students. Our boarding school was exactly like a university and the same size as one too.

_Great!_ I was unfortunate to be the only one working the register today. Usually, whenever Edward came into the store I was never at the register, or I would have someone else cover for me. But today it was only Jasper and me working in the store.

_Oh crap! What do I do?_

Getting nervous, I looked at Jasper with pleading eyes telling him that I wanted his help. But he shook his head and whispered, "You're on your own."

_Great! Stupid best friend! ARGH!_

I looked at my watch. Another thirty minutes and I'm out of here. Hopefully, he'd take a long time and wouldn't finish until after my shift was over.

Our school bookstore was huge, and I know on average, most people spent up to an hour or two in the store. I prayed that would be the case and went back to keeping myself busy.

Luckily, the long line of students in front of me helped the time pass quickly. I was too caught up in ringing up customers that I didn't bother to look up to see who the next person was in line until it was too late. They placed their items on the counter and I started ringing up their purchase.

Wuthering Heights (_probably for class, I thought to myself_)

Romeo and Juliet (_probably for class again_)

Notebooks

Pens

Pencils

"Good choice for the books, those are my favorites," I said still looking down and scanning all the items.

"I agree. Those are mine as well," I heard someone say. I recognized the musical voice immediately and stiffened. It was the same familiar tone from all the pep rallies and school functions.

I looked up from the register and found myself gazing into two deep emerald green eyes. It was Edward.

**GULP! **

I lost it completely. I couldn't think or speak or breathe. I swear I must've been standing there for at least an hour, just staring at him with drool coming out of my mouth.

Jasper was apparently watching the exchange, no doubt, laughing at me. He came over and nudged me breaking my gaze. I looked back down at the register.

"Um… your… um… total comes out to $56.65," I squeaked.

Great, now he thinks I'm mentally incompetent. Just great!

I took his credit card and rang it up. I was definitely not going to speak another word. No need for more embarrassment on my behalf. Screw the customer service policy!

Don't look up. Whatever you do, don't look up – that would be bad, very bad.

I'm sure that my face was as bright as a tomato right now. See, this is exactly why I'm glad that I don't have any classes with him.

I placed all of his items in a shopping bag and handed it to him while continuing to stare at the register.

I was doing well with the self-control and not looking up. Good for me! I definitely need to pat myself on the back for that!

"Thanks Bella!" he said in his silky voice.

Never mind, the self-control went to shit. I shot my head up immediately and I saw him giving me a crooked smile while he walked toward the exit. I couldn't even return the smile because I was in shock.

WHAT? He knew my name? Oh My God! I'm going to faint now. And that smile made my heart flip-flop. I don't know how long I stood there with my eyes glazed over in a daze, but I eventually snapped out of it when I realized I had stopped breathing.

See, once again, I'm glad that I don't have any classes with him or I would never be able to make it through my Honors/AP courses.

"Bella, Breathe," Jasper cajoled as he came over to me. I started taking deep breaths.

"Jazz, was I dreaming? Was that real? H-he knew my name!" I squealed almost about to explode with excitement.

He gave me an awkward look and then said, "That was real, he did come in here, but uh, um… Bella, your name tag is right there on your uniform vest."

I slapped my hand to my forehead.

OH… I am officially stupid.

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**A/N: The dancing babies line is from Ally McBeal. **

**Thanks to my beta, SavageWoman, for helping me with this! You're the best!**

**Please let me know what you think. Thanks! **


	2. The Middle

**Thanks to my beta, SavageWoman, for being so awesome in helping me with my story!  
**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Twilight or Ally McBeal. I do own the storyline and any characters that I make up.**

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**Chapter 2 – The Middle**

Song – The Middle by Jimmy Eat World

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After work, Jasper and I walked back to the dorms arm in arm. At five feet four inches, I always felt small and tiny next to his six-foot, two-inch, lean frame. And I always linked my arms with him because, one, we were best friends and, two, I always felt comfortable around him. He's like an older brother to me.

And yes, a guy and a girl can be best friends without throwing romantic feelings into the mix. And no, he's not gay either. He's never expressed an interest in any of the girls at school. I really think he's just waiting to meet that special someone.

We were both wallflowers at school blending into the massive crowd of "normal" students. We weren't popular but we weren't outcasts either. We weren't involved in sports but we were involved with the school newspaper, the _Ridge Crest Times_. Jasper was a copy editor and I wrote the Music & Book Review Section. We also got jobs at the bookstore last year because we love reading and could get discounts on the books. Who doesn't love a good discount?

Not that we needed the discounts – both of our families were extremely well off. Actually, all of the students at school were well off. It was a school for rich kids of famous or wealthy families.

On our way back to the dorms, Jasper turned to me and said, "Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you at work, Rose is transferring here for her senior year. I just found out this morning."

Rose was Jasper's twin sister. She was attending a rival boarding school with my older brother, Emmett. They've been dating since junior high so they decided to go to the same high school together.

Rose and I were close friends as well, so it was good to hear that she was going to join us for our senior year.

"Really?! Cool! When does she get in? Does she know who her roommate is going to be?" I asked.

"No, she doesn't know yet. She's coming in tomorrow morning," Jasper replied.

"Great! Call me when she gets in and I'll come and help her move," I offered.

He nodded. "Let's meet for dinner in about an hour. I'll call you."

He gave me a hug as I walked into my dorm.

Our dorm buildings were similar to the typical college dorms – tall, red brick buildings. Each one was about five stories high grouped in a cluster of ten dorm buildings. We also lived in same sex dorms so I never had to worry about guys playing pranks or anything.

I took the elevator up to the fourth floor and walked down the hall, passing the red dorm doors until I got to my room #459. It was quiet and I knew that I should be enjoying the peacefulness now before everyone started moving in this week.

Jasper and I stayed at Ridge Crest during the summer and ended up taking summer school courses. We also had to stay because we had to get the bookstore ready before school started.

I walked into my room and surveyed the two full size beds, one against each side of the wall. They were slightly raised so one could have drawers and shelves underneath each bed to store clothes and books. There were two desks as well and a small kitchenette. The room was also equipped with its own en-suite bathroom, which was great for privacy.

I was so tired from the long day at work that I threw myself on my bed and passed out. Next thing I knew, the ring tone from my iPhone went off, rousing me from my nap.

_Hey, don't write yourself off yet_

_It's only in your head you feel left out_

_Or looked down on_

_Just try your best, try everything you can_

_And don't you worry what they tell themselves_

_When you're away_

_It just takes some time, little girl in the middle of the ride_

_Everything, everything will be just fine_

_Everything, everything will be alright, alright_

_(The Middle – Jimmy Eat World)_

"Hello?" I grumbled into the phone.

"_BELLA, WAKE UP!"_ Jasper yelled into the phone.

I shot up from the bed. I hated when he did that. It always scared me.

"Alright, alright! Sheesh, someone's got their panties in a bunch… I'll get up… what time is it anyways?"

"_It's close to seven, let's get dinner and catch a movie at the theatres on campus. We need to make the most of the rest of our summer before school starts."_

"Okay, I'll meet you in fifteen minutes outside my dorm, see ya," I said as I hung up my phone and jumped off the bed.

I went into the bathroom, washed my face, and brushed my hair, sweeping my bangs to the side. I put on some eyeliner and mascara and went to change. I put on a pair of dark skinny jeans with a tight white t-shirt and navy blue Abercrombie zip up hoodie and my white flats. I grabbed my white purse and headed out the door.

Jasper was already waiting outside for me wearing jeans and a red t-shirt with a black hoodie. I walked next to him going toward the on-campus mall.

"Where do you want to eat?" I asked him.

"I'm up for anything, you pick, it's your turn anyways," he said.

"How about pizza?! I've been craving pizza for awhile now." I smiled at the thought.

"Okay, let's go to _California Pizza Kitchen."_

The on-campus mall had stores as well as restaurants and a food court. It was somewhat quiet but there were still some students walking around, no doubt starting on some early school shopping. We strolled into _CPK_ and found a table near the front of the restaurant.

I immediately sat down and perused the menu looking for something to satisfy my famished stomach. I slammed it shut and looked up at Jasper.

"I'm done! I know what I want; I need food in this now!" I quipped dramatically pointing to my stomach.

"No doubt about it… you are Emmett's sister. Where does all that food go?" Jasper chuckled.

I laughed. Just then, a server came over to take our order. Jasper and I decided to share a BBQ Chicken Pizza and ordered two Cokes.

As the server left, I looked behind her and saw Edward Cullen sitting in the back having dinner with a girl with black spiky hair. They were glancing over in our direction so I pretended that I didn't see them and looked back at Jasper.

"What's wrong, Bella?" Jasper said. He saw the look in my eyes. It's so frustrating how well he could read me.

"Oh, nothing," I said quickly and pretended to look outside the restaurant.

From the corner of my eye, I saw him turn his head to look where I was looking before he shifted his head back to me.

"Now I know why you moved your head so quickly, are you going to be able to eat your dinner?" he teased.

"Stop teasing me! Or I will get up now and go back to the dorms," I hissed.

"Fine, fine. I'll stop. Don't have a cow, okay?" he sighed.

Should I ask Jasper who she is? I didn't want to ask but this was really bugging me. Not that it should bug me. I'm definitely not a stalker or a fan girl, but there was something about seeing them together that was really bothering me.

I'd never seen Edward alone with a girl, ever. Even the school gossip column was strangely quiet on the subject of Edward Cullen's love life. Friends always surrounded him and he was usually a part of a larger group, so this development was definitely odd.

"Who is that with him?" I asked casually. Jasper recognized more people at school than I did, so I was hoping he would know whom Edward was sitting with.

"I don't know. I've never seen her before," he said with a hint of sadness in his voice.

"What's wrong? Why do you sound… sad?" I asked.

"What? No, I don't," he denied rather quickly.

"Yes, you do," I argued with a little smile.

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Yes! Just tell me Jazz, I'm your best friend, you can tell me anything," I said.

"Well, you're going to think I'm crazy," he mumbled looking down at the table.

"You already think I am because of my big crush, so who cares." I rolled my eyes.

"Fine, you know that girl he's sitting with?" I nodded my head for him to continue. "Well, I think… I think she's really cute," he said sheepishly.

"Cute, huh? Ooooh! So now _someone_ has a crush on a person they've never talked to. Don't you think that's crazy?" I said repeating the words that he said to me at the bookstore.

"Shut it, Bella!" His outburst caused me to laugh. Pretty soon he started laughing too. In all our years at RCP, this was the first time he ever admitted to me that he thought someone was cute. I was happy for him.

But what if she was Edward's girlfriend? Poor Jazz… Wait a minute, it was more like poor me… I felt my face fall into a frown and my shoulders sag just a little at the thought.

The pizza came and we drifted into normal conversation while I avoided looking at Edward and the mystery girl. But I still, I couldn't resist watching them surreptitiously from the corner of my eye. They kept glancing over at us and I wondered if Jasper noticed as well. After a few more minutes, I noticed that they had left the restaurant.

"Jazz, did you see them glancing over at us during dinner?" I asked.

"No, I didn't see anything," he answered with a guilty look in his eye. I knew that look and I could tell he was guilty of chancing more than _a_ peek in the mystery girl's direction.

Oh well, maybe it was just me that noticed the looks. I was probably imagining things, like always. With my daydreaming and all, I'm sure that nothing is ever real.

"Do you think that's his girlfriend?" I asked.

"Well, he's never had a girlfriend here even though he has his fan club of girls, but he's never showed interest in anyone, and he's always so busy with school and sports. I swear that guy makes the idea of being a perfect student too perfect," he mused.

It was true. Edward always had a group of fan girls following him, and although he could pick anyone in the entire school, he never did. Maybe he's gay. But then again, that thought would be ruled out with the dinner that we just witnessed, right?

"Maybe's she's his girlfriend from another school or something," I said and shrugged my shoulders.

"Geez, jealous much, Bella?" Jasper said wriggling his eyebrows.

"Of course not! I don't even know him, remember? And I have no intention on getting to know him. Like I said I'm not even in the same league as him so why even try?" I knew that was the logical way to answer, but my heart still held out, hoping for something more, though I wasn't sure if it was for the sake of my daydreams or for myself.

"You're so stubborn! And you don't see yourself clearly," Jasper griped as he looked at his watch.

"Let's go, we're going to be late for the movie!" he said in a rush.

We paid for dinner and left for the theatres. There was a line and I noticed that Edward and the mystery girl were up at the front. Everyone was staring at them wondering, I was sure, who the mystery girl was.

I saw people taking pictures of them with their cell phones, probably trying to get a photo for the school newspaper.

Gossip at our school always spread like wildfire. All schools are like this, right? I mean, how can schools survive without gossip? Oh, the horror!

"Look at all the buzz these two are generating," I said pointing to Edward and his mystery date.

"I know, we're lucky, the school newspaper doesn't start to print until school starts so this should be old news by then."

"God, I could just imagine Tanya coming in with this latest gossip and trying to get Angela to approve her column," I said and rolled my eyes.

"Well, you have to admit, it is the most popular section of the school newspaper. That section is hotter than _US Weekly_," he supplied.

I sighed. It was true. Our school lived off gossip and _Tanya's Taint-a-licious_ _Column_ was the most popular section of the entire newspaper. If we didn't have it, I don't think the paper would even survive. It wasn't malicious though which Angela Weber, our editor in chief, would never go for, but it did report on what was going on at school, as well as, updates on all the popular people. It made the social elite look like celebrities. To me it was a joke, but I' never admit that it was my guilty pleasure to read.

"What movie are we watching again?" I asked Jasper.

"It's the new James Bond film, _Quantum of Solace_," he replied.

We got up to the ticket booth and purchased our tickets. We went straight into our movie routine mode. I went into the theatre as Jasper went to the snack counter. He always knew what to order for us.

The theatre was getting crowded as I walked in, trying to look for two seats somewhere near the middle of the theatre. I spotted two seats and sat down waiting for Jazz.

A few minutes passed before I heard a girl ask, "Excuse me, are those seats taken?" I turned to look at her and realized that it was the girl from the restaurant… the girl with Edward! I got a better look at her this time and noticed that she was extremely small and petite, only about five feet tall. She reminded me of a pixie. Of course, Edward would be dating her; she was very pretty.

"Um, I'm just saving this one but these two are open," I said and pointed to the seats to my right.

She smiled at me with a twinkle in her hazel eyes as she sat down next to me.

Great! That would mean that Edward would be sitting next to us as well. Ugh! I didn't want to watch a movie being nervous the entire time! Why does this have to happen to me?

Just then, Jasper sat down on my left. He had two Cokes, a large tub of popcorn and my peanut M&M's.

I slowly turned my back to the pixie girl and faced Jasper mouthing to him, _"Look, who it is?"_ I slowly moved my head and eyes to the side signaling him to look behind me.

He looked behind me curiously, but as soon as he saw her, his eyes widened and he looked down at his popcorn with a blush tinting his cheeks.

I've never seen Jasper blush. That was my thing, not his.

I swatted his arm as he looked back to me and I mouthed to him, _"What was that? You never blush!"_

I was just about to burst out laughing when someone interrupted me.

"Excuse me, can I get through?" a deep musical voice asked.

I didn't have to look up to know who that was. I scooted my legs up so that he could walk past my seat in the row and sit next to the girl to the right of me.

The movie started so everyone stopped talking. I tried my hardest to focus on the movie, forcing myself not to look at the couple sitting to my right.

If they caught me staring, it would be so over! I felt my heart pounding against my chest and my hands started to sweat just before I started to fidget.

I saw Jasper trying to casually peek here and there but every time I saw him, I would pinch him in the arm so that he wouldn't. He would jump slightly in his seat because of my pinching, which would cause Edward and the pixie girl to look over but I stayed focused on the screen.

The rest of the two hours went by in a blur, and when it was over, I grabbed Jasper's arm and dragged him out of the theatre like a bat out of hell.

"Let's go!" I hissed.

"Okay, Okay," he said as we made our way back to the dorms.

"That was the most uncomfortable movie I have ever been to and why did you have to keep taking peeks at them? It was so obvious!"

"I was just curious about how they were acting during the movie," he said and shrugged his shoulders.

"And what's your conclusion?" I asked. He was always good at reading people and their feelings.

"Well, I'm not sure. I could barely focus with you pinching me the entire time!" he sneered.

"Someone had to stop you from ogling at the girl! What if that was his girlfriend? He could've started a fight with you right then and there from your drooling stares!" I shot back.

"I was not ogling at her!" he argued.

"Yes, you were so what's your verdict?" I asked trying to get him to stop arguing with me.

"Well, they didn't act like a couple but that doesn't mean they aren't one, so I'm not sure. I guess we'll have to wait until Tanya's column comes out when school starts."

"Per-fect," I replied sarcastically as we walked back to the dorms.

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**Please Review and Thanks for Reading!**


	3. Disturbia

**A/N: Thanks for adding this to your alerts! And thanks to those who reviewed! This chapter introduces more of the story. Hopefully, you'll get more of a sense of the character personalities. So sorry if there are grammatical mistakes in here.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Twilight or Ally McBeal. I do own the storyline and any characters that I make up.**

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**Chapter 3 – Disturbia**

Song – Disturbia by Rihanna

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That night I tried to fall asleep but I started tossing and turning in my bed. I was really curious who that girl was. I don't even know why I was thinking about it. I don't even know Edward Cullen and here I was sitting in bed wondering who the mystery pixie was. It's not even any of my business.

Seriously, this crush needs to stop. I am a really sad pathetic person.

I turned to look at my clock and groaned. It was 2:13 am. I was going to eat it tomorrow. All of sudden, I heard some noises outside in the hall.

What the hell was that?

I was starting to freak out. Not that many people have moved in yet and it was normally quiet at night. I heard some more shuffling but this time it was right outside of my door.

I have to be dreaming. There was no way my roommate would be coming this late at night. WAKE UP! WAKE UP! I started to slap myself in the face. OW! Okay, I was definitely not sleeping.

I started thinking about calling Jasper and letting him know what was going on but it was the middle of the night and I didn't want to wake him.

I quickly looked around the dark room to see if I had some sort of weapon. Luckily, the baseball bat that Emmett gave me for "protection" purposes was in the corner of my closet so I got up grabbed it and stood near the door. I could hear my doorknob moving and saw my door fly open. I immediately started swinging away while screaming at the top of my lungs.

"AAAAAHHHHH!!!!"

"Bella, Bella! OW!" I heard a booming voice.

"Stop! It's me! It's me!"

I slowly stopped swinging and squinted my eyes at the figure standing in the hallway. He was taller than 6 feet and extremely muscular. I tried adjusting my eyes to the light and finally realized who I was looking at.

"Emmett!!" I screamed and jumped up into my brother's arms.

"Hey Squirt!" He said as he wrapped his bear like arms around me and picked me up off the floor in a tight bear hug.

"Em, I – can't – breathe!" I tried to say.

"Oh, Sorry about that!" He said as he set me back down.

"I'm glad to see that you're at least making use of the baseball bat I got you. It comes in handy, right?" He said wriggling his eyebrows.

I laughed and turned on my room light while motioning for him to come inside.

"It's the first time I've had to use it. What are you doing here? And at this hour?" I said as he stepped in and I closed the door.

"Um … mom and dad didn't tell you?" He said nervously.

"No, why? What's going?" I asked curiously.

"Well, I … uh … I didn't pass my senior year at Hilltop Prep so they sent me here to finish my last year and hopefully get into college," he said quickly hoping that I wouldn't hear it but I did.

"WHAT?! YOU DIDN"T PASS?! EMMETT!" I screamed.

I saw him wince and he shrunk back. I was always surprised at how I could affect my brother since he always intimated everyone else due to his massive size but Rose and I were the only ones that could scare him.

"I know, I know, little sis, but hear me out. Mom and dad decided to send me here so you can tutor me and help me pass and I'm joining the football team here to see if I can get a potential college football scholarship."

I crossed my arms. "That was the reason why Mom and Dad sent you to Hilltop Prep in the first place! You were supposed to get a college scholarship there for football because their football program is better!" I yelled.

"Well, obviously that didn't happen so I'm stuck here." He sighed.

I could tell he was really upset about it so I didn't want to push it any further.

"Are you sure you want me to tutor you?" I asked.

"Bells, we all know you're the brains of the family, can you please help me? I really need to get into college and finish high school. It's embarrassing enough that I didn't pass my senior year. At least now, I can start fresh at a new school, please help me?" He pleaded.

I was always a sucker when it came to my brother so I slowly nodded my head in agreement.

"I'll help you but you have to take our tutor sessions seriously. No joking around or pranks, got it?!" I said.

"Yes, Ma'am!" He saluted me.

Then he started rubbing his hands together like he was plotting something.

"Goodie, now you'll have your big brother here to protect you from all the guys." He said.

What the hell was he talking about? All the guys? Do you see a line waiting outside my door? NO!

I looked at him like he was crazy and rolled my eyes.

"Well, I have news for you because there are no guys for you to worry about," I said.

"Just keep telling yourself that squirt! I'm a guy too and I know what guys want. And if anyone comes near you they will have go through me first." He boomed.

"Fine, have it your way but nothing's going to happen because I'm telling you, there are no guys."

"You're so stubborn! Anyways, I have an idea," he said with a twinkle in his eye. That twinkle was never a good sign.

First of all, Emmett was the king of pranks and jokes. So anytime he had that twinkle in his eye it meant that he was up to something no good, which is bad. Very bad.

"Squirt, can we tell everyone here that we're twins?" He asked like it was the best idea in the whole world. You have got to be kidding me!

"Em, no one is going to believe that we are twins. You're huge and look at me." I was an entire foot shorter than him.

"Plus, people here already know who you are and know that we are not twins," I said.

It was true. My brother was the King of Hilltop Prep. He was like the "Edward Cullen" at his school but just not … how should I put it nicely? Book smart? Yep, he definitely wasn't book smart. Emmett was Captain of the Football Team and Baseball Team and Star Player on the Basketball Team. He was all about sports. I would be very surprised if he didn't become some sort of professional sports player someday. Someone would have to be hiding in a cave to not know who Emmett Swan was.

"Oh but come on Bells, it'll be fun! And people will think it's funny!" He begged.

"How are people going to think that us being twins is funny?!" I could see his mind running a mile a minute and had to stop him now.

"Whatever plan you concocted in that crazy brain of yours is not going to work," I snapped.

"Please? We can do it for fun. I like a good laugh, you know that." He whined.

There was no way I was giving in this time. I had to put my foot down. This was crazy! Not to mention that it would draw attention and I hated attention.

"NO, Em!" I shouted.

"Fine, be a debbie downer, Bells." He pouted and crossed his arms.

"Whatever," I replied and rolled my eyes.

"Why did you get in so late? And how did you get in my room anyways? You don't have a key." I asked.

"I wanted to get here before Rosie arrives tomorrow so I can help her move. Do you mind if I sleep on this extra bed here?" He pointed to the empty bed on the opposite side of the room.

"Yeah, let me get some blankets for you, you can use the bathroom to change." He went into the bathroom and changed into his pajamas while I setup the other bed for him. He came out and made his way to the bed as I turned off the lights.

I got back into my bed and snuggled under the covers.

"I'm glad that you're here Em, I think this year will be great with you and Rose here."

"I'm glad too, Squirt!"

"Oh and Em, how did you get in here?"

"That is for me to know and for you to find out! Muahaha." He laughed. I could hear him rubbing his hands together. This was not good. If he knew how to get into my room this would be considered a danger zone. I rolled my eyes knowing that he wouldn't see me in the dark and fell asleep.

**

* * *

**

I felt the warmth of the sun hit my face as I woke up the next morning. I turned to see that Emmett was still sleeping and went to grab the shower first. I let the hot water hit my shoulders soothing my back. I got out and started combing through my long hair. I threw it up in a ponytail and put on a pair of my old jeans and a tight grey t-shirt to help Rose and Emmett with the move.

I came out and got a text message from Jasper telling me that Rose was going to be here in thirty minutes. I looked over and saw that Emmett was still sleeping. This time he was face up with his mouth open and I could've sworn there was drool coming out of his mouth. I started poking him in the stomach and calling out his name hoping that would wake him up but he didn't move.

I started shaking his arm still calling his name and that still didn't do anything so this time I got up to his ear and screamed, "WAKE UP, EMMETT!"

He shot up like lighting and looked dazed.

"Huh, What? Where am I?" He asked while rubbing his eyes.

"You're in my dorm, remember? Go take a shower, Rose is going to be here in thirty minutes."

He slowed walked to the bathroom mumbling to himself and grabbed a clean towel as I sat at my desk surfing the internet.

Once he was done, he grabbed his bag and we headed out to meet Jasper and Rose. We walked over to the parking lot and I saw my beautiful blonde friend standing next to her red BMW M3 convertible.

"Rosie!" I heard Emmett yell as he ran toward her and scooped her up in his arms twirling her around. They were definitely in love. Now they started kissing and I knew that was not going to stop.

"Ahem!" I cleared my throat hoping it would make them stop.

"Can I get my hug now?" I said pretending to sound annoyed.

They stopped kissing and Rose turned to me smiling.

"Of course!" She said as she came up to me and gave me a hug.

"Rose, I'm so glad that you're coming here this year with Em!" I said.

"He told you about that huh?" She said warily.

"Yeah, I was disappointed but I'm at least glad that we can all be together for our senior year, even if Em is repeating it!" I said and smiled.

Jasper looked surprised at what I said and started asking Emmett what was going on.

"Did you get your room assignment yet?" I asked.

"Yes!" She responded with a huge smile with her stunning blue eyes sparkling in the sun.

"Well?! What building and room are you in?"

"Building C Room #4 5 9!" She said slowly.

"We're roommates!?! This is going to be the best year ever!" I squealed as I hugged her.

"Here's let get you moved in." I said as I grabbed a suitcase from her trunk.

I could see that more students were arriving now and I was glad that Rose came a little earlier. Otherwise, it would be a mad house. Of course, everyone was staring at us when we were moving probably because of Rose and Emmett. First of all, Rose looks like a model and Emmett is just so huge that he scares people.

After an hour, we had all of Rose's stuff in our room and then we went to help Emmett with his stuff. It turned out that Emmett was rooming with Jasper, which worked out perfectly! We walked to his blue Monster Jeep to help him and I noticed that there were more stares. I was sure people were even more intimated when they saw his car.

We finished helping Emmett move in and decided to meet up for lunch in an hour. I grabbed Rose and we headed back to our dorm. We caught up with each other about what we did over the summer.

As we got back to our room and closed the door, she started to unpack her suitcases hanging up her clothes in the closet. I went to help her unpack some of her boxes for her desk.

"So, is there anyone at school that has caught your eye?" She asked suspiciously.

Damn it! Did Jasper say anything? No, I knew he wouldn't. He was the only one that knew about my crush. But if he did, he was dead!

"No," I lied.

"Come on, Bells! There has to be someone here that you like or think is cute," she pressed on.

"Well, there is a really annoying football player named Mike Newton that always tries to talk to me but he's definitely not my type and I don't like him. Other than that, there really isn't anyone," I said lying again.

"Mike Newton?! He's a jerk! You know that Emmett got in a fight with him last year at the big rival football game, right?" She said.

I looked at her like she was speaking in alien language.

"Rose, Jasper and I don't go to any of the sports games at school. I don't even know anything about football let alone try to watch it and figure out what the hell is going on."

She laughed. "Well, you'll have to go to the football games this year since Emmett is going to be on the team. He's thinking about trying out for basketball too."

"What?! He's going to do basketball too?! How are we supposed to have our tutor sessions if he's going to be so focused on sports?"

"Well, he's trying to see if he can get a college scholarship for football or basketball. I don't think he wanted to tell you because he was afraid that you would freak out which you just did by the way. But don't worry, you guys will have time for tutor sessions. I'll try to help him as much as I can too."

"Oh good, at least I know he'll be spending more time with you than with me so that will help!"

We finished unpacking her things and went out to meet up with Jasper and Emmett at the food court. There were definitely more students on campus today and the food court was bustling with people.

Luckily, we didn't have to start wearing our school uniforms until school officially started so I was definitely enjoying the free dress code.

We grabbed food from _Chipotle_ and sat down at a table in the middle of the busy food court. I could see that people were staring again and I was starting to get uncomfortable. I absolutely hated being the center of attention but with Rose and Emmett here now I knew that it would be impossible to avoid.

You see, Rose and Emmett were extremely popular at Hilltop Prep so that only meant that they would become popular here. It was like an automatic transition. It also didn't help the fact that Rose and Emmett loved basking in all the glory.

When Jasper and I started here freshmen year we got the stares too but eventually it stopped. People left us alone once they realized that we didn't like the attention. We just enjoyed being normal and not having to get caught up in all the popularity contests going on.

Now with Emmett and Rose here, I feel like I'm re-living freshmen year all over again. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea that they were going to come here. Ugh!

5 , 4, 3, 2, 1 … and right on cue, the picture taking started. I could see Rose smile. She was definitely enjoying it.

"Why are they taking pictures?" Emmett asked.

"It's for _Tanya's Taint-a-licious Gossip Column_ in the school newspaper," Jasper said.

"Oh, they had a gossip column like that at Hilltop, I guess I should just wave and smile." Emmett said. So of course, like the idiot my brother is, he started waving and smiling like a beauty queen who just won the crown and people continued to click away.

I shrunk back in my seat and wanted to hide in the corner. Why me?

* * *

**A/N: I have the next few chapters written up and hope to post up next Chapter before the weekend. Please review and let me know what you think so far! Thanks!!!**


	4. Hound Dog

**A/N: I would like to say a big thanks to Jess - Loves forever for being my Beta! Thanks for all the support Jess!! Thanks also to everyone else for adding this to your favs and your alerts! And thanks for the reviews! Now on with the story!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Twilight or Ally McBeal. I do own the storyline and any characters that I make up.**

* * *

**Chapter 4 – Hound Dog**

Song – Hound Dog by Elvis Presley

* * *

After lunch, we all decided to go buy some things for our dorm rooms so Rose and I took my white Audi Q7 SUV while Jasper and Emmett took his blue Monster Jeep.

We came back with the entire car filled and had to move everything back to our dorms. The dorm hallways were getting busy now. Music was blasting, room doors were flung open and girls were walking back and forth between each other's rooms.

We setup the new TV and DVD player that we bought as well as the two bean bags and a rug. We started putting up pictures and posters all over our walls. I pinned up my Linkin Park and Maroon 5 posters. Luckily, Rose liked them too so she didn't seem to mind.

After we finished putting away all the stuff that we bought, I was exhausted and went to take a shower before we met the guys for dinner.

I put my hair up in a bun and threw on a pair of dark jeans and a green tank top with a white off the shoulder sweatshirt and my white Converse sneakers. Rose was wearing a jean mini-skirt with a red tank top and white hoodie.

We made our way to the guys dorms and I noticed that all the boys were staring at Rose again. This time some were gawking and I could swear I actually saw drool hitting the floor. Gross.

Jasper and Emmett were waiting outside as we met up to greet them. Of course, Rose and Emmett had to make a display to show that she was taken so she jumped up into his arms and they started making out. I don't know if that turned off the boys that were staring or turned them on more.

"Ugh! Gross! Do I have to see my brother making out with one of my best friends in front of me all the time now? Get a room!" I yelled at them as I grabbed Jasper's arm and started walking toward the mall.

"You'll have to get used to it Bells, now that both of them are going here. It makes me sick too but we're just going to have to deal with it," Jasper said looking disgusted as well.

"Squirt, what is there to eat here? I'm hungry!" I heard Emmett yell behind me as him and Rose caught up to us.

"Well, they have pretty much everything. I'm sure it's similar to what you had at Hilltop. What are you in the mood for today?" I asked.

"Let's get Mexican!" Emmett boomed.

"GOD, NO! I have to share a room with you and I know what beans do to your stomach," Jasper yelled.

"_Beans, Beans, the musical fruit, the more you eat, the more you toot, the more you toot, the better you feel so eat beans with every meal!"_ Emmett sang as people started staring at us. Then I heard a whack from Rose hitting him against the back of his head.

"Ow! Rosie," Emmett pouted as Jasper and I laughed.

"How about _Johnny Rockets_?" Rose said.

"Hamburgers, sound good! I'm getting hungry too so let's go!" I said as we walked toward _Johnny Rockets_.

"Rosie, look! They have a _Game Stop_ here! Can Jazz and I meet you two at _Johnny Rockets_? Puh-lease?" He begged.

"I thought you were hungry?" Rose said.

"I was but the new _Grand Theft Auto_ game just came out and I really want to buy it, puh-lease Rosie?" He pouted.

God! He sounded like a child asking for permission from a parent to buy something.

How are we related? I rolled my eyes at him.

"Fine, we'll grab a booth and wait for you," she said as she linked arms with me. We walked into _Johnny Rockets_ as the guys headed to _Game Stop_. The restaurant was packed today and loud from all the chatter.

I could feel the stares as we walked in and sat down in an empty booth. I grabbed the menu and looked down at it while listening to the song blasting over the loud speakers.

_You ain't nothin but a hound dog_

_Cryin all the time._

_You ain't nothin but a hound dog_

_Cryin all the time._

_Well, you ain't never caught a rabbit_

_And you ain't no friend of mine_

"Well, hello ladies! How you doin?"

I saw someone slide into the seat next to me. I could feel him snake his arm around my shoulder and knew that it was Mike Newton.

When was he ever going to stop and get a clue? He was so damn annoying!

I looked up and saw that his friend, Tyler, another football player was sitting next to Rose and trying to put his arm around her but she slapped his arm away.

"Don't you dare touch me ever again or I will break you in two, got that?" She snapped. I saw him flinch at her response. Rose could be very scary if you got on her bad side.

I shrugged off Mike's arm and gritted through my teeth. "What do you want, Newton?"

_When they said you was high classed,_

_Well, that was just a lie._

_When they said you was high classed,_

_Well, that was just a lie._

_You ain't never caught a rabbit_

_And you ain't no friend of mine._

"You're looking good, Swan," he said as he looked me up and down. I shot daggers at him. Disgusting pig!

"NEWTON! CROWLEY!" I heard Emmett yell from behind us. I saw both Tyler and Mike jump and cringe.

"GET OUT OF OUR SEATS!" Emmett boomed.

I saw them scramble to stand up next to the table. They looked scared shitless. Heck, I would be too if I got on Emmett's bad side.

The entire restaurant fell silent now and everyone was watching us. My face could not have been more red.

_You ain't nothin but a hound dog_

_Cryin all the time._

_You ain't nothin but a hound dog_

_Cryin all the time._

_Well, you ain't never caught a rabbit_

_And you ain't no friend of mine_

I blinked my eyes and now everything in front of me looked liked we were in the 1950's. Emmett and Jasper were wearing black leather jackets with their hair slicked back. Rose and I were wearing poodle skirts with tight white blouses tucked into our skirts. Both of us had our hair tied up into ponytails and scarves tied around our necks.

Mike and Tyler were wearing their football jackets and looked scared. Then, Emmett threw a punch at Mike's face and everything went crazy. Food started flying everywhere. And more and more guys joined into the fight. Guys in leather jackets against guys in football jackets.

I looked over at Mike and saw him crying. I started laughing. It was hilarious. Then I felt someone kick me hard from under the table. "Ow!" I yelled.

_When they said you was high classed,_

_Well, that was just a lie._

_When they said you was high classed,_

_Well, that was just a lie._

_You ain't never caught a rabbit_

_And you ain't no friend of mine_

That definitely snapped me out of my daydream. I bent over to rub my shin. I really need to stop doing that.

"What was that for?" I mouthed to her without speaking. I didn't want to interrupt the tension in the air.

"You were dreaming again!" She mouthed back.

Rose, Emmett and Jasper knew that I could at times get carried away with my thoughts. They always thought it was funny while we were growing up and constantly teased me about it but I knew that once we hit high school they started getting annoyed with it because I tended to mix reality with my dreams. Opps!

I looked to my side to see Emmett and Jasper standing next to each other towering over Mike and Tyler. Both had their arms crossed and looked pissed. Jasper always got mad at Mike because he never stopped harassing me. But now that Emmett was here, I have a feeling that Mike is no longer going to be an issue.

"What are you two doing to my girl and my little sister?!" Emmett yelled while poking Mike in the chest and glaring daggers at Tyler. "Don't forget that the last time we were on the field, you cried like a baby and we can do a repeat of that here today," Emmett said menacingly as he cracked his knuckles.

Everyone in the restaurant was laughing as Mike and Tyler's faces turned bright red. I glanced around the room and saw people starting to take pictures.

_When they said you was high classed,_

_Well, that was just a lie._

_When they said you was high classed,_

_Well, that was just a lie._

_You ain't never caught a rabbit_

_And you ain't no friend of mine_

Mike gulped and said, "S-Swan is your sister?!"

"Yeah, Idiot! Emmett Swan! Bella Swan! Are you that much of a moron to not put two and two together?" Emmett yelled. I could see Mike and Tyler cower back.

"Now, Newton, I heard that you've been harassing my sister since freshmen year so you stay the hell away from her, got that?! And off limits on my girl as well, Crowley! Or you'll see my fist meeting both of your faces! I'll be watching you two," Emmett said while motioning two of his fingers from his eyes to Mike and Tyler.

"Now get out of here!" Emmett boomed as they took off out of the restaurant. Everyone laughed again and I could see that some were even recording what happened on their cell phones probably to post it on You Tube.

_You ain't nothin but a hound dog_

_Cryin all the time._

_You ain't nothin but a hound dog_

_Cryin all the time._

_Well, you ain't never caught a rabbit_

_And you ain't no friend of mine_

_(Hound Dog – Elvis Presley)_

Emmett slid into the booth next to Rose laughing as Jasper sat next to me.

"Could you have been a little more discreet about that, Em?! Everyone's looking at us," I hissed.

"Oh, come on, Bells! I was just having fun and I hate Mike Newton!" Emmett said.

"Did you see his face? He looked like he was about to pee in his pants!" Rose said.

We all started laughing.

"Bells, how come you didn't tell me that he was bugging you?" Emmett said.

I glared at Jasper knowing that he was the culprit and looked back at my brother.

"Because, it's no big deal. I handled him on my own all these years," I shrugged.

"No, you didn't! I had to pretend to be your boyfriend freshmen year so he would stop asking you out!" Jasper said.

Great! I didn't want Emmett and Rose to know that!

"What?!" Emmett and Rose both yelled at the same time.

"Jasper!" I yelled and slapped his arm as he shrunk back in his seat. "Fine, I did have him pretend to be my man shield but it was only during freshmen year and it helped ward off the annoying boys. And you shouldn't be talking Jazz! You made me do the same for you too because of Jessica Stanley and her friends!!!"

"You promised not to say anything about that!" He yelled at me.

"Well, you promised me too!" I huffed.

We glared at each other as Rose and Emmett started laughing.

"You and Jazz?! HAHAHAHA! That is hilarious! I … I c-can't even imagine you and Jasper together as a couple!" Rose said through her laughs as tears were rolling down her face.

"I wish I could've seen that!" Emmett bellowed through his laughs.

Jasper and I rolled our eyes. We were used to them always laughing at us. We were always a source for their entertainment. Once the laughter stopped we ordered our food.

Then Emmett got serious, which is rare. "You have to tell me if he bothers you again, squirt. Now that I'm here he won't have to think twice about talking to you," he said.

"But aren't you going to have to be team mates with him if you are going to be on the football team. Don't you have to get along? Like teamwork and stuff? How are you going to manage that?" I said.

"Easy. I'm going to make it as captain so he has to listen to me," Emmett said.

"Is it really that 'easy' to make it as captain?" Jasper asked.

"Yeah," Emmett replied confidently and beamed. "Your school should be glad that Emmett 'The Bear' Swan is now going here so hopefully now you can win the state championship!"

I groaned. This is definitely going to be a long year.

* * *

**A/N: Alice and Edward will be coming into the story more soon ... I'm just building up the relationships between these four first and adding in some daydreams. Please be patient with me and don't kill me! **

**I got the Beans song from the Simpsons and I added a line in here from Friends. **

**Please let me know what you think!**


	5. Maneater

**A/N: Thanks to Jess - Loves forever for reading this over and helping me out with the grammar! I decided to post two chapters today since I'll be away this weekend. I hope you like it!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Twilight or Ally McBeal. I do own the storyline and any characters that I make up.**

* * *

**Chapter 5 – Maneater**

Song – Maneater by Nelly Furtado

* * *

The next day, Jasper and I grabbed breakfast from _Starbucks_ and headed over to the bookstore for our shift bright and early. The store was more crowded today and I knew that students would be coming in to buy their textbooks and supplies for the school year.

After eight long hours, our shift was finally done and my back was killing me. We walked out of the bookstore and back to the dorm. I fumbled through my purse and found my iPhone to check my messages.

_From: Rose_

_To: Bella_

_Dinner at 7pm! Meet back at the dorms! _

"Jazz, I got a text from Rose, we're meeting for dinner at 7pm. We'll meet you and Em outside, see ya!" He nodded as I went inside my building.

I went back to my room and noticed that it was empty. Rose must be with Emmett. Thank god they weren't in this room. God only knows what they could be doing. That means that Jasper would probably be coming here in about … 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. I heard a knock on my door.

"Come in, Jazz!" I yelled.

"Hey, how did you know it was me?" He said as he opened the door and plopped onto one of the beanbags.

"My room was empty so I knew that Rose and Em were together in your room."

"You do not want to know what I almost walked in on," he cringed.

I shivered. "NO! Don't tell me! I don't want to know what my brother is doing with your sister."

"Hey, can I use your laptop?" He asked.

"Sure, it's on my desk, I'm going to shower and change," I said as I grabbed some clothes from my closet and went into the bathroom.

I showered and dried my hair leaving it down and put on a pair of jeans with a tight white _Hollister_ t-shirt. I stepped out of the bathroom and heard Jasper yelling.

"Bells, Come here! You have to see this!"

"What?! What?! What is it?!" I said as I ran to my desk.

Sure enough, there on You Tube was a video of Emmett yelling at Mike yesterday at _Johnny Rockets_.

"It's already has 5,000 hits!" Jasper said laughing.

"Oh GOD! Are you serious?! This is so embarrassing!" I screeched.

Jasper was practically rolling on the floor laughing with tears coming out of his eyes. It was pretty funny though watching Mike's reaction. He looked like he was about to cry. I could only imagine what happened last time when Emmett got in a fight with him.

I realized that this year is definitely going to be different, that's for sure. It's only been one day and Emmett already put us on You Tube. There goes being discreet and having a quiet senior year! What am I going to do?

After Jasper replayed the video five times — laughing each time — we went to meet up with Rose and Emmett. We saw them outside the dorm buildings holding hands.

"Hurry up you two! I'm hungry!" Emmett yelled.

"Where do you want to eat at?" I asked as we got closer to them.

"How about _Chili's_?" Emmett said while rubbing his hands together and licking his lips. _"I want my baby back baby back baby back!"_ He sang.

We all turned to glare at him and rolled our eyes. Then we headed off to _Chili's_ in the mall. The restaurant was crowded and rowdy. I could see an NFL football game playing on all of the TV screens. We ended up sitting in a booth toward the front of the restaurant.

"Hell, Yeah! The Patriots vs. Steelers game is on," Emmett boomed with his loud voice causing people to turn around and look at us.

He focused most of his attention to the game while Jasper, Rose and I looked over the menu. After a few minutes, we ordered our food and started chatting away. I could barely make out the song playing on the loud speakers because of all the noise but I could hear it faintly in the background.

_Everybody look at me, me_

_I walk in the door you start screaming_

_Come on everybody what chu here for?_

_Move your body around like a nympho_

_Everybody get your necks to crack around_

_All you crazy people come on jump around_

_I want to see you all on your knees, knees_

_You either want to be with me, or be me!_

I was telling Rose about work when I saw Lauren Mallory walk into the restaurant. She followed my gaze and I saw her eyes harden.

"Lauren Mallory!" She hissed.

"How do you know who she is?" Jasper asked.

"Our schools are rivals remember? I know who the Queen Bee is here. Plus, she's the biggest slut and she's slept with half the guys at Hilltop," Rose said with more venom in her voice. I could tell that wasn't the whole story but didn't push it.

I turned to look back at Lauren as she saw us at our booth and her eyes went straight to Emmett. I think she found her target. She wouldn't be stupid enough to approach him with Rose sitting here.

_Maneater, make you work hard_

_Make you spend hard_

_Make you want all, of her love_

_She's a maneater_

Then I saw her walking toward our booth. Okay, so she really is stupid. She's asking for a death wish.

I looked over at what she was wearing. She had on a super short mini-skirt barely covering her butt and a tight low cut top that pressed her boobs together. She was trying to sway her hips and walk seductively toward Emmett but she looked like she needed a hip replacement.

_Make you buy cars_

_Make you cut cords_

_Make you fall, real hard in love_

_She's a maneater, make you work hard_

Emmett was still too focused on the TV to notice her. As she walked up to our table, I could see Rose shooting death glares at her. She started twirling her blond hair with her fingers as she tried desperately to get Emmett's attention but he was still focused on the TV.

Nothing could break Emmett's concentration when it came to sports — except for Rose. She was the only one blessed with that gift.

"Hi Emmett," she said in her nasally high pitched voice trying to sound sexy. He didn't respond.

_Make you spend hard_

_Make you want all, of her love_

_She's a maneater_

_Make you buy cars_

_Make you cut cords_

_Wish you never ever met her at all!_

_(Maneater - Nelly Furtado)_

"What the hell do you want Mallory?" Rose sneered as Emmett finally broke his gaze from the TV and realized who was standing next to our table. He glared at Lauren.

"I wasn't talking to you Hale!" She hissed at Rose and turned back to Emmett.

"Hey Emmy, I heard that you transferred here, did you need someone to show you around?" She purred as she batted her eyelashes at Emmett.

God, do girls really think that's sexy? She looked like she had something stuck in her eyes.

Emmett put out the palm of his hand shoving it right in front of her face and was right about to say something before Rose started yelling.

"Stop talking to my boyfriend, Mallory! And don't ever call him Emmy again! Don't forget what happened the last time you tried something, did the bald spots grow back?" Rose gritted through her clenched teeth.

This is going bad fast. I could see people staring again and taking pictures on their cell phones. Great! Another video on You Tube, that's just what I need. And it's only the second day now!

Why does this have to happen to me? Why?

I gave Jasper a look wondering what the hell was going on and he shrugged his shoulders just as confused as me.

"THAT WAS YOU? YOU BITCH!" Lauren screamed. I could see her lunge toward Rose with her nails ready to attack but Emmett stood up and blocked her before she could reach Rose.

Rose stood up from the booth now and walked closer toward Lauren yelling, "You asked for it! SLUT! Stay away from my boyfriend!"

"I'm going to get you Hale! You better watch your back!" Lauren yelled as she turned and walked away.

Rose and Emmett sat back down looking really pissed off.

"Pinch me now!" I whispered to Jasper. He reached over quickly and pinched my arm without hesitating. He knew that I always had him pinch me whenever I thought I was day dreaming so it wasn't anything new to him.

"Ow!" I yelped and jumped in my seat.

"You told me to pinch you!" He said.

"Yeah, but did you have to do it so hard this time?! I'm going to get a bruise!" I yelled back.

"Sorry," he said sheepishly while I rubbed my arm.

I turned to Rose and Emmett who still looked furious and asked, "What the hell was that all about?"

"I hate Lauren Mallory!" Rose screamed.

"Yeah, we can see that but why? What did she do to you?" Jasper asked.

"She hit on Emmett last year. I told her to stay away from him but she wouldn't stop the flirting. So I got even. I came over here and snuck into her dorm room and put hair remover in her shampoo. She stopped coming around Hilltop and eventually forgot about Emmett."

How the hell are they sneaking into people's rooms? Mental note to self, ask Rose about it later.

"I remember that in Tanya's column. She locked herself in her dorm room for a month saying that she was sick with mono and when she came back she was always wearing hats to school. That was your doing?" Jasper asked.

"Yeah, and she deserved it. She knew that Emmett and I were together so it serves her right for messing with people's boyfriends," Rose said.

"Was that why you came to my dorm last year in November and spent the night?" I asked.

"Yeah, and it was well worth it. She's such a bitch!" Rose hissed.

"Remind me never to get on your bad side!" I said as everyone laughed.

We went back to chatting and Emmett tuned out watching the football game on TV again. After we finished our food, Emmett got up to use the restroom while we waited for him.

It was taking awhile for him to get back and I was starting to worry. What if he got into a fight or something? That was probable and definitely not unlikely but Emmett's huge! He could take on five or more guys all on his own.

I looked behind Rose toward the restrooms to see if I could find him and saw Emmett talking to Edward. I froze. Jasper could sense my body stiffen and followed my gaze. He nudged my arm as I snapped out of my gaze and turned to face him. Rose saw our exchange and turned around to see what we were looking at. I immediately started talking to Jasper as if nothing happened to brush it off. Hopefully she wouldn't notice.

"So Jazz, aren't we supposed to start reporting for newspaper duty on Monday?"

"Yeah, Angela wants us to come in next week to help out before school starts. We have to help with the first edition that is supposed to print on the first day of school," he said playing along.

Rose turned back to face us now with her eyes narrowed like she was thinking something and said, "Wait, hold up, what was that about back there?"

"What are you talking about?" I lied trying to make it sound like nothing happened earlier.

"Don't lie to me you two! I saw what happened. What is going on with you and Edward Cullen?" She hissed.

WHAT?! She knew who he was? But then again, everyone within a hundred mile radius of the school probably knew who he was so I shouldn't be that surprised.

I looked up again toward Emmett just in time to see him bump fists with Edward and start walking back toward our table. I saw Edward looking toward our direction flashing a smile at us.

Oh GOD! Avoid! Avoid! I averted his gaze and immediately looked away pretending I didn't see him.

Now, you're probably thinking that I'm stupid, right? I know I am! I don't know why I always avoid him but he always makes me nervous. And I don't want to look like one of his fan girls that's completely obsessed with him. I'm really not a fan girl. At least that's what I keep telling myself. I mean that would just make me look more pathetic right?!

"Nothing is going on," I said nonchalantly trying to get Rose to stop harassing me.

"Something is going on and you better tell me Bella!" Rose said sternly like she was scolding a child.

"Fine, I'll tell you back at the dorms, Emmett is coming and I don't want him to know," I whispered as Emmett made his way back to our booth.

She immediately dropped the subject and then smiled at Emmett asking him, "What took you so long, babe?" as he sat down.

"I bumped into Edward Cullen and he told me that football tryouts start Monday, are you going to come watch?" He asked us.

"Of course!" Rose said.

"Um, well, I don't know if we," I pointed to Jasper and I, "can go because we have to start working on the school paper next week, and we're going to be really busy."

It was true. We were definitely going to be busy but thank God for the school newspaper! I had to avoid seeing Edward on the field. Knowing me, I would probably faint just from seeing him in his football jersey and I definitely wanted to avoid all forms of embarrassment.

"Ah, come on, Bells! You have to be there to support your big brother. Plus, you've never seen me play! Please!" He pleaded. Damn it! He knew my weakness and that I could never say no to him when he pleaded.

Jasper cut in this time, trying to save me. "It'll be very busy Em but we'll try to make it."

"Fine then as long as Rosie's there I'm happy!" He beamed.

Phew! That was a close one. I turned to look at Jasper giving him a thankful smile.

We left the restaurant soon after and headed back to the dorms. As soon as the guys left and we got into our room, Rose cornered me up against the door.

"Okay, Bells, SPILL!" She yelled.

"Really, there is nothing to SPILL about because there truly is nothing going on," I answered as I pushed her out of my way and walked toward my bed. I was telling the truth. Nothing has happened between us in reality.

"Bells, I saw you freeze up when you looked at him," she paused for a little bit thinking. The she said in a teasing manner, "Do you have a crush on Edward Cullen?"

"Um, no … why?" I shrugged and looked down at the floor. God, I'm such a bad liar!

"YOU so have a crush on Edward Cullen!"

"WHAT?! Is … is it that obvious?!" I yelled as she burst into giggles.

"Well … no it's not obvious but to me it is but that's because I've known you forever." I groaned and threw myself onto my bed hiding my face into my pillow.

After a few more minutes of her laughing her ass off, she finally stopped and said, "How long has this crush been going on for?"

"Not long," I lied.

"Bells, you need to stop lying because you really suck at it."

"Fine! Since Freshman year, alright?! And it's no big deal! Like I told Jasper all this time, it's just a crush and nothing more. I've never even talked to the guy! God, I probably sound like one of his stupid fan girls, kill me now!" I groaned again.

"You WHAT?! You've NEVER talked to him? As in you have never spoken one word to him?" Her eyes popped out of her head.

"Well, besides what happened at the bookstore a few days ago … no and I don't ever intend to. So let's just drop it!" I hissed.

"Wait, hold up, back up, what happened at the bookstore?"

I launched into the story about what happened before she moved bringing her up to date to the present.

"Okay, so why haven't you talked to him all this time?"

"Um, H-E-L-L-O? I can't even formulate a sentence when I'm around him let alone stay one color on my face. We've never had any classes together so there isn't a reason why I should talk to him and I'm not anywhere in his league."

She started looking angry at me. What did I do? I didn't insult her or anything did I?

"ISABELLA MARIE SWAN! You know that you are beautiful, kind, smart, sweet and everything that any guy would want. How can you say that you're not in the same league?!" She yelled.

I cowered back. She really was scary when she's mad.

"Rose, he's the most popular guy in school. People like him don't associate with people like me. You should know! You and Emmett are in that social class!" I said.

"That's just stupid, Bells! Popularity is over rated and that doesn't have anything to do with who you associate with."

"Well, I don't know how it was at Hilltop but it's like that here. Just wait until school starts and everything kicks into gear. You'll see."

"You're crazy!" She said to me. "And so help me God, we going to have you talk to Edward Cullen before you graduate this year! He's really cute, Bells! You two would look so cute together!"

I looked at her like she grew a third head. "Yeah, that would only happen if I was the last woman on earth and even then he wouldn't pick me."

"Stop it Bells! This year will be different for you! Emmett and I are here now so things will change! Just wait and see," she said as if she was convinced something would happen.

Yeah, Right! Only in my dreams.

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**A/N: I'm coming back Sunday and hoping to post the next chapter which has Edward in it and it's funny, or at least I hope you think so! I know you've been waiting for him to show up ... and he's coming ... I promise. **

**The song that Emmett sings is the commercial jingle for Chili's.**

**Please review and let me know what you think. I'm really curious if you are liking it so far. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!! =)**


	6. Dreams

**A/N: Thanks to Jess - Loves forever for reading this over for me! I'm back from my weekend trip and decided to post this up. I hope you enjoy it. I've been picturing this in my mind as if it were a movie playing out in my head so I hope it comes across as that. Especially with the funny parts and I hope you think it's funny too.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Twilight or Ally McBeal. I do own the storyline and any characters that I make up.**

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**Chapter 6 – Dreams**

Song – Dreams by Cranberries & All I Have to Do is Dream by the Everly Brothers

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_Oh my life_

_Is changing everyday_

_In every possible way_

_And oh my dreams_

_It's never quiet as it seems_

_Never quiet as it seems_

_I know I've felt like this before_

_But now I'm feeling it even more_

_Because it came from you_

_And then I open up and see_

_The person falling here is me_

_A different way to be_

_(Dreams - Cranberries)_

I lay in bed for a little bit listening to the old _Cranberries_ song as it filled the room. I leaned over and saw that it was 8:05am. Ugh, time for me to get up! I pushed the snooze button on my alarm clock and started getting ready for the day. It was Thursday of the second week and only a few more days until the start of school.

Fortunately for me, Jasper and I ended up being extremely busy with the newspaper that we really didn't have time to go see Emmett at his tryouts. Angela decided that we needed a redesign of the newspaper. So we were working long hours to get to a new format before Monday and with our bookstore work schedule we just didn't have time. Thank God! It was a lifesaver.

Rose was going to tryouts everyday to support Emmett but with Lauren Mallory there she didn't feel comfortable going alone. It was only a matter of time before I knew she would get desperate.

I showered and put on my dark skinny jeans and a white peasant top with my white flats. I stepped out of the bathroom and was attacked by Rose immediately.

"Bella! You have to come with me today to Emmett's tryouts!" She grabbed my wrist and yelled.

"OW! OW! OW! Can you please let go?!" I yelled back.

She dropped my wrist and smiled sheepishly at me saying, "Sorry about that. I've just been on edge because Lauren Mallory drives me crazy! Her and her entourage of bimbos have been going to the tryouts everyday and it's been annoying the hell out of me!"

I gave her a sympathetic look. I would go but I was so busy with the newspaper. I'm not lying this time. Cross my heart and hope to die.

"Rose, you know I will try but it's been so busy with the paper and work." I said as I saw her face fall. That face always got to me and I started to feel bad.

"What time is it again?" I asked just to be nice and I saw her face light up again.

"It's at 3pm, oh please, Bella, please!" She pleaded and then said coyly, "or I could make you go but you know I would never do that."

"What do you mean by make me?" I asked curiously.

"I could tell Emmett about your secret crush." She taunted.

"ROSALIE! You wouldn't!" I shouted as my eyes widened.

I knew she would blackmail me! I knew it!! It was only a matter of time. I should've never trusted her with my secret! Now, I am going to suffer because of this! Great job, Bella!

She paused and then said, "Okay, you know I wouldn't do that but I just wanted to see your face! That was so worth it!" as she laughed.

"Oh you!" I pointed at her with one finger.

"I would never do that to you Bells! But please please please can you come today?" She begged.

"Fine! I'll try working on the newspaper over the weekend then. I'll have to go a little late but I'm not going alone. I'll see if Jazz can come with me and we'll meet you there, okay?"

She jumped up and down. "Oh, thank you! You have definitely made my day! At least I don't have to be there with Lauren Mallory and her stupid friends glaring at me all day."

"See you at 3:30pm then! I'm late! I have to go to the newspaper office now!" I said as I rushed out of the room.

The day flew by and it was getting close to 3:30pm. I managed to convince Jasper to come with me to the football tryouts so at least I didn't have to show up there alone.

We made our way to the football stadium and I could hear the whistles coming from the coaches and girls cheering. As we stepped into the stadium, I was surprised to see a lot of girls sitting in the bleachers. There was a section with about thirty girls wearing Emmett's jersey. He was number 33. And yes, his jersey just came into the store yesterday. He was guaranteed a spot on the team but was just waiting for the captain announcement.

Another section had about fifty girls wearing Edward's jersey and I could see Lauren Mallory sitting there with her friends. I rolled my eyes.

There were other smaller groups of girls scattered around wearing other guy's jerseys who's names I didn't recognize. I saw some guys sitting around too probably to support their friends. I scanned the crowd and saw Rose sitting alone but closer to the field. She was wearing Emmett's letterman jacket. She turned around and saw us and waved.

Jazz and I walked toward her and sat down on the bench next to her. It was then that I finally got a glimpse of the field. I gasped. I had never stepped foot in the stadium before and it was huge.

"What? What's wrong Bells?" Rose asked.

"It's nothing. I've just never been in here before and it's huge!" I said.

"You've never set foot in your school's football stadium?" She asked incredulously.

"Um, yeah … not sports fans, remember?" I said as I pointed to me and Jasper.

I looked down toward the field and saw Emmett warming up, wearing his football gear. He looked up at us and waved. I heard squeals from girls coming from behind us obviously thinking that he was waving at them. Rose snickered and we waved back just as the coach started having them do drills.

It was then that I saw Edward. I froze eyeing the Greek God that was standing down at the field in his football uniform holding onto his helmet. I've never seen him in his football uniform before and he looked really good.

_Drea-ea-ea-ea-eam, dream, dream, dream _

_Drea-ea-ea-ea-eam, dream, dream, dream _

_When I want you in my arms, _

_When I want you and all your charms, _

_Whenever I want you, all I have to do is, _

_Drea-ea-ea-ea-eam, dream, dream, dream _

I saw him looking toward my direction and smile. I smiled back ogling at the vision before me. It was like there was no one else but the two of us. He started walking up the stairs toward us.

He pointed at me and smiled. I turned around looking to see if he really meant me or if he meant someone behind me. I didn't see anyone else as he strode up the stairs walking toward me slowly. The breeze blowing through his messy bronze hair. I'm sure my smile grew bigger the more he came closer to me.

_When I feel blue in the night, _

_And I need you to hold me tight, _

_Whenever I want you, all I have to do is, _

_Drea-ea-ea-ea-eam_

As he got closer to me, I could make out the muscles in his arms and legs as he climbed the stairs. He was now only inches away from me when I really got a good glimpse of his perfect face. His chiselled jawline and high cheekbones. He leaned down closer to me and I could feel his sweet breath against my face. His eyes boring into mine and I saw him mouth the words while speaking slowly, "H-E-A-D-S U-P!"

_I can make you mine-_

_(All I Have to Do is Dream - The Everly Brothers)_

_(MUSIC SCREECH)_

Huh? What? I shook my head snapping myself out of my daydream and right then, I saw a brown ball flying right toward me.

**WHACK!**

I fell off the bleacher with a thump and everything went black.

**

* * *

**

I thought I heard my name and screams. And then I heard the most soothing voice in the world. "Is she okay?"

"Bella! Bella!" I heard a frantic booming voice. Was that Emmett?

"Bells! Bells! Wake up!" I heard another familiar voice. Was that Jasper?

"Bella! Bella! You have to wake up! Please!" Was that Rose?

"Don't move her!" I heard an older man's voice.

What? What happened?

I slowly fluttered my eyelids open seeing a blur of images in front of me. It took awhile for my eyes to focus and now I could see a circle of faces bending over to look down at me. There were six faces total. There was older man that I didn't know but I think he was one of the football coaches and a medical person. I also saw Rose, Jasper and Emmett and the sixth person … was Edward.

Oh GOD! How embarrassing! I sat up quickly and felt a sharp pain in my head.

"Ow!" I said as I placed my hand to my forehead.

"Lie back down!" The medical person hissed while trying to push me back down.

"No, I'm fine!" I pushed him off me.

"Bells! Listen to him and lie back down," Emmett ordered. His yelling made my headache worse so I listened and lay back down.

"Let me check your head," the medical person said as he pressed around. I winced at the pain as he pushed on the sensitive spot where the ball had hit me.

"Follow my finger," he said as he moved his fingers in front of my eyes and followed them.

"Do you remember where you are?" He asked.

"Yes, I'm in the school's football stadium." I answered.

"You seem fine but I think we should take you to the medical center to do more tests, you may have suffered a concussion." Since our school was so huge, we had a medical center on campus and I was determined not to go there. I hated needles, doctors and nurses.

"What?!" I said and sat up again only to wince at the pain shooting through my skull and placing my hand on my forehead.

"Ow! No, I'm fine, really!" I insisted.

I could see Jasper, Emmett and Rose giving me disapproving looks and I didn't bother looking at Edward or I would really pass out. This situation was embarrassing enough as it is.

"Guys, we need someone to help her to the medical center," the coach said.

"I'll take her." I heard a musical voice say.

Oh no! NOT that voice! Not him! Please! Anyone else but him. I really did not need to pass out again and on the way to the medical center. The doctors would think that I'm crazy! I was sure Jasper and Rose saw the horror on my face.

Rose smirked obviously happy about the situation and Jasper smirked obviously enjoying watching me squirm. Then Emmett spoke up, THANK GOD! I was saved!

"No, it's okay Edward. She's my sister, I have to make sure she's okay, just take care of Butterfingers over there," he hissed as I saw him glare at Mike Newton. What does Mike have to do with any of this?

Just then I felt my body leave the floor as Emmett scooped me up in his arms.

"I can walk Em, put me down!" I struggled in his arms.

"No, you can't! I'm carrying you to the medical center so shut it!" He said as we walked away from the crowd that surrounded us. It was then that I caught a glimpse of the crowd and noticed that the entire football team was standing there along with all the people who were watching the tryouts.

Could this get any more embarrassing? I even saw people taking pictures. I groaned into Emmett's chest knowing that I was definitely going to make Tanya's gossip column. I prayed that she would go easy on me. And I hoped that no one recorded it to post on You Tube or I would seriously consider transferring schools.

As we made our way to the medical center, I looked up at Emmett and asked, "What happened back there, Em?"

"You don't remember?"

"No, all I remember is seeing the football flying toward me and blacking out."

"We were doing drills on the field and then Mike 'Butterfingers' Newton was tossing around the football and it went flying toward you. I thought you would be smart enough to move out of the way when you see something flying toward you but you looked dazed like you didn't see it coming and then it hit you. You flung back and passed out. I was so scared Bells! Don't ever scare me like that ever again! You're my favorite sister and I don't want anything happening to you," he said sincerely.

"Em, I'm you're only sister."

He laughed as we walked into the medical center. They did a few scans and tests and concluded that there was nothing serious about the large bump that was forming on my forehead. It would go away in a few days.

Emmett carried me back to the dorms not that I needed him to but he insisted that I shouldn't be walking. We got back to my room and he set me down. Rose and Jasper were both there waiting for us as they each gave me a hug.

"Are you okay?" Rose asked. She looked like she was crying.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just have this stupid bump on my head," I said as I pointed to the large bump and moved my bangs to show them. They both winced when they saw it.

"Don't worry we can use makeup to cover it up and it's a good thing you have bangs," Rose said.

"You need to lie down, Bells!" Emmett ordered.

"Yes, master!" I said as I headed toward my bed and flopped down. My headache wasn't as bad as before but I knew I needed to rest.

"I'm going back to tryouts then, you two watch her for me," Emmett said.

"Thanks Em!" I said as he leaned down and kissed my cheek.

"I love you sis!"

"Love you to big brother!"

He left the room and Rose came over to my bed.

"I'm so sorry Bells!" She said.

What was she apologizing for?

"What for? What are you talking about?" I asked curiously.

"This would've never happened if I didn't beg you to come to tryouts today, it's all my fault!"

"No, it's not your fault, Rose! I should've seen the damn thing coming toward me … but I was too caught up in my thoughts," I said as my cheeks turned pink.

"I knew it!" Jasper said. "I was wondering why you didn't dodge the ball. I almost pushed you out of the way but it was too late. Bells, you really have to stop with the daydreams."

"You were daydreaming again?!" Rose said.

"Um, yep," I squeaked. Guilty as charged.

"Was it about Edward Cullen?" She teased.

Jasper gave me a look wondering how Rose knew.

"I told Rose about my crush but Emmett still doesn't know and I'd like to keep it that way," I threatened.

"And yeah, I was a little caught up in my dreams ok. I've never seen him in his football uniform before," I sighed.

"And that's my cue to leave. I don't need to be around for the girl talk," Jasper said as he practically ran for the door. "Get better, Bells! I'll call you later!"

"Bye, Jazz!" Rose and I said as the door closed. Then Rose turned back to me.

"You know that Edward was staring at you right, Bells?"

"Huh? What?"

Okay, I'm confused here. What was she talking about?

"When you came into the stadium, he couldn't take his eyes off you!" She squealed.

"Uh, are you sure it was me? There were about a hundred girls there, he could've been looking at any one of them."

"Stop deluding yourself! He was staring at you and he was so concerned when you passed out. He was the first one to get to you before Emmett, the coach and the rest of the team. And he kept asking me if you were okay."

"Stop Rose! You don't have to make me feel better about embarrassing myself in front of the entire football team and over a hundred people from school!"

Rose rolled her eyes. "Fine, I'm not going to say anything to you anymore. You're a hopeless case. Anyways, you should rest or Emmett will kill me for not taking care of you."

I rolled over in my bed and closed my eyes trying to block out what Rose said about Edward. He doesn't even know who I am. Why would he be so concerned? And I'm sure he was staring at someone else. There were at least over a hundred people watching the tryouts.

My head was starting to pound harder now so I stopped thinking and fell into a dreamless sleep.

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**A/N: Okay, so I hope you liked this chapter. It doesn't have real E&B action yet that is still to come but at least the dream sequence was funny! Or I at least thought it was hilarious trying to picture her getting smacked by a football while dreaming of Edward.**

**First day of school is the next chapter ... more fun stuff to come! I promise!**


	7. Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous

**A/N: Thanks again to Jess - Loves forever for reading this over for me and helping me with changes! It's going to be a build up of the story from here onto the next few chapters ... you'll find out more about shy Bella ... hope you like it! Thanks to those who reviewed and added this to your alerts.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Twilight or Ally McBeal. I do own the storyline and any characters that I make up. **

**

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**Chapter 7 – Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous  
**

Song – Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous by Good Charlotte

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It was the first day of school today and I got up bright and early. My bump was nearly gone now and I was feeling much better.

I was anxious to get the school newspaper to read Tanya's column today. Silly, I know. You'd think that because I was on the newspaper staff, I would get first dibs. But no. Tanya always worked in secret and never let anyone see her column except Angela, so I had to wait for the news like everyone else in school.

I jumped out of bed and flung open the door to see the _Ridge Crest Times_ lying on our doorstep. I grabbed it and slammed our door shut. I opened the paper immediately and started looking for Tanya's column tossing the rest of the paper aside. I would go through the rest later.

I wanted to make sure that nothing embarrassing was in there about me. Her column was huge this time. Apparently there was a lot that happened over the summer to report for the first edition. I scanned the column and headlines.

"_**Jessica's Summer Surgery"**_ - _Jessica Stanley and her surgery over summer._

Probably fake boobs.

"_**Kate and Garrett, Finally Together!"**_ - _Kate Willis getting together with Garrett Summers over the summer break. _

Aw! They looked cute together from the photos.

"_**Laurent goes to Rehab!"**_ - _Laurent Pierre sent to rehab for drug and alcohol use and expelled from RCP. _

No surprise there! He was known to be a big druggie on campus.

"_**Emmett Swan and Rosalie Hale, King and Queen at Hilltop, Now at RCP!"**_- _Emmett Swan and Rosalie Hale, the newest additions to RCP. _

There were the pictures that were taken their first day at the food court. It mentioned that they were sitting with their brother and sister, me and Jasper. Okay so first mention in here and it wasn't too embarrassing. I could live with that.

"_**Edward Cullen and Mystery Girl"**_

Hmm … this peaked my interest as I scanned the photos from the theatre and read the caption.

_Edward Cullen seen with mystery girl two weeks ago out at the movies. Who is this mystery girl? No one seems to know. More to come. _

Wow, even Tanya didn't know who she was. That was a first. Who is that girl? I continued to scan the rest of the column.

"_**Newton Cries Again!**_**" **– _Emmett Swan comes to the rescue saving his sister and girlfriend. _

How many times has Newton cried in public? Well, there was a second mention of me in the column with photos but it was nothing too embarrassing. I could live with this too. It's not too bad.

"_**Hale vs. Mallory, Beef?"**_– _Rosalie Hale and Lauren Mallory have brought war on campus. Who will you side with? _

I saw the photos from TGI Friday's. I wasn't mentioned in this paragraph. Phew!

Maybe I was lucky this time and won't be mentioned in here. I was lucky that no one caught the football incident to post on You Tube so I could be lucky, right?

Then I saw it. The last headline with photos of me getting hit with the football. How did someone get that shot? It was a literally, a picture of me with the ball, which right about to make impact with my head. I looked like an idiot completely zoned out to reality. People are seriously going to think I'm crazy!

"_**Bella Swan Damsel in Distress"**_ – _Bella Swan gets hit with a football and passes out only to be carried to the medical center by her brother._

And then there were more photos of all the massive people looking down at me passed out on the floor. This was definitely the worst. Definitely can't live with this.

"GAAAAHHH!!" I screamed. I saw Rose shoot up in her bed as I woke her up.

"What? What?" she mumbled.

"Look!" I said as I threw the column to her and put my head in my hands. "I am beyond mortified!"

She took a look at the column reading through all the captions and going over the photos.

"Wow, this column is a lot better than the one we had at Hilltop!"

"Rose, focus please!" I said.

"Oh, right. Come on, Bells! The photos aren't that bad."

"That bad! That bad! They are reallllyy baaaddd! I can't go out there for my first day of school! You've got to be kidding me!" I said pacing back and forth in our room.

"Stop! Don't worry about it! It's really no big deal! So what? You got hit by a football, it happens," she said.

"No, it doesn't just 'happen' to normal people. This stuff happens to me and it always happens to me. And now it's plastered in the school newspaper. And I look like an idiot! Why can't I just disappear and be invisible? Ugh!"

She jumped off her bed and grasped my shoulders.

"Get a grip, Bells! It's just a stupid article with pictures. Don't worry about it! If anything you should be enjoying the attention."

"Why would I enjoy attention about my face getting pummelled by a football?!"

Rose rolled her eyes at me. That's what I get for talking to an attention whore!

I started taking deep breaths and finally calmed down. "Fine, I'm not going to worry about it. Let's get dressed for school."

Even though we had uniforms at our school, no one really complied with the dress code. As long as you were wearing what they considered to be "standard", it was fine.

The "standard" basics were the normal skirt (for girls) and slacks (for boys), blouse (for girls) and button down shirts (for boys), tie, blazer, vest or sweater depending on the weather. Our school colors were navy blue, yellow and white. We were also allowed to throw in some maroon and light blue to add some color.

From these basics all the girls would "tweak" their uniforms a bit. And of course no one complied with the shoe policy. They ended up lifting that rule awhile ago before I started coming here.

I went to my closet and threw on my blue pleated skirt. I never hiked up my uniform skirts as high as some girls did practically showing off their butt cheeks like they were wearing Daisy Dukes. But I never wore the standard length, which was below the knee. Like I said, I was always going with the flow like the normal crowd. I threw on a white blouse that was a variation from the original standard uniform and put on a black v-neck long sleeved sweater over the blouse. I tied a black bow around the collar and threw on a navy blue headband, sweeping my bangs to the side. I threw on dark grey tights and my black flats. I put on my usual light makeup and grabbed my book bag. I threw the rest of the newspaper inside to read later during lunch.

Rose came out wearing a blue, red, green plaid skirt hiked way up her thigh with a tight white short sleeved blouse and a black tie loosely tied around the collar. She wore her black knee high boots and grabbed her book bag as well.

"Aren't you going to be cold?" I asked looking at her.

"Nah, I always have Emmett's jacket!" I saw her looking at me up and down and giving me a curious look.

"What?" I said, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Do you always cover yourself up this much for school?"

"This is what I normally wear, what's wrong with it?" I said.

"Nothing, you look cute but very conservative. We really need to play up your style," she said thinking.

That was not a good sign.

"We're going shopping today after school and no buts!" she said as she grabbed my arm and pulled me towards the door.

"Fine!" I said not bothering to argue back because of my bad mood.

Everyone was walking around now in uniforms and scrambling to class as we made our way outside to the classrooms.

I could feel stares coming in every direction. I never had to deal with this when it was just me and Jasper. But now that Rose was here, I was stuck walking with her instead which means there will be attention and I can't avoid it. This sucks!

"What classes do you have?" Rose asked. I pulled out my schedule and we compared classes and teachers.

**1****st**** Period – AP Economics**

**2****nd**** Period – AP Calculus**

**3****rd**** Period – AP English**

**4****th**** Period – Gym**

**Lunch**

**5****th**** Period – AP Biology**

**6****th**** Period – Newspaper Staff**

"Wow, Nerd!" Rose teased as she glanced at my schedule.

I blushed. I studied a lot and was definitely determined to get into Stanford. It was always a dream of mine.

"Well, it looks like we only have gym together, so I'll see you then! I'm off to Calc," she said as we separated.

I made my way to my first class near the Social Sciences area. All classroom buildings were grouped by subject.

I found the classroom and it was half filled with students. I made sure to sit towards the back of the class hoping that people wouldn't laugh or say anything to me about the football fiasco.

First period went by fast and I recognized some people in my class. Only faces but not names. I never really socialized too much with anyone at school to know people's names. There were two guys from the football team that I recognized. I didn't remember their names but found out in class that it was Jack Taylor and Mark Welch. I think they are good friends with Edward.

As the bell rang, I saw that they were making their way over to me but I quickly walked out pretending not to see them. I was sure they were going to ask me about last week and I wanted to avoid it all.

I headed over to the Math area and into my second period classroom. I grabbed an empty seat while saving a seat for Jasper. We compared schedules over the weekend and found out that we had Calc together.

After a minute, Jasper came strolling in and sat down as I scanned the room. I recognized Kate Willis in our class and she waved at us. We didn't know her too well but she was always nice.

Then it was third period. English was my favorite subject so I was definitely excited. I stepped into the classroom and found a desk in the middle of the room.

I sat down and took out my notebook and started doodling. I didn't bother looking up when I heard more students filling the room and seats around me. The bell rang and I saw the teacher waltz into the room.

"Good Morning, Class!" she said.

"Good Morning, Mrs. Cooper!" everyone responded.

"I'm going to take attendance before we begin," she said as she reached toward her notebook and went through the class roster. I scanned the room and saw that Angela was in this class. I recognized a few other faces but didn't know anyone else.

Then I heard his name, "Edward Cullen," Mrs. Cooper called out. I froze. He was in this class?! Oh NO! This is not good. I am definitely not going to be able to get through this class.

"Present!" I heard his silky voice call out from behind me as I could feel his breath against my hair. He was literally sitting in the seat right behind me.

I pinched myself to make sure that I wasn't dreaming and I wasn't. This was real. Very real.

Do not turn around!

How could I not see him come in?! Was I that occupied with my doodling? Apparently so! I am so stupid!

"Bella Swan," Mrs. Cooper called out.

"P-Present!" I squeaked and blushed red. Oh this was not good. I was already squeaking and I haven't even looked at him yet. I could feel my palms starting to sweat and my stomach tying into knots. I had to stay focused not to turn around.

Throughout class, I kept trying to focus on what Mrs. Cooper was saying but all I could think of was that he was in the same class with me. And sitting right behind me. Why me? Out of all the years, I've been here I have never had a class with him and now this!

I started counting down the fifty minutes of class staring at the wall clock near the chalkboard. I think I stayed completely still the entire class time and as soon as the bell rang, I jumped out of my seat and ran out of class.

I have never been more happy to go to gym in my life. And that says a lot because I absolutely hate gym class.

I don't know how I'm going to survive that English class.

I made it to the South Gym (we had four gyms) and went straight to the girls locker room. I saw Rose and we talked about our morning classes as we changed into our gym outfits, which were a pair of dark blue shorts and a dark grey t-shirt. I didn't bother telling her what happened last period because I figured I would tell her back at the dorms.

We walked out and saw Emmett and Jasper sitting on the bleachers. We went to join them and I was surprised to see the mystery pixie girl. She was standing on the side but I could see her talking to some other girls.

People were getting rowdy and then we saw two coaches come out along with a man and woman. One of the coaches blew their whistle trying to get everyone to quiet down.

"Attention Class! I'm Coach Gibson and this is Coach Clapp," she said as she pointed to the male coach standing next to her.

"Now, you're probably wondering who these two people are standing up here with us and we have a surprise for you this year."

Oh no, what's going on? I could hear the entire gym buzzing with whispers.

"With the great response that we received last year from the Roaring 20's Homecoming Dance and the 80's Winter Formal, we will be having a 1940's Swing Dance Homecoming this year and a 1950's Winter Formal."

I heard gasps, screams, and cheers roaring through the gym.

Last year, was the first year our school decided to do period themes for our dances except for Prom. So they offered dance classes as an option to take instead of gym. The people who took the dance classes had to go to the dances to get graded as their test for the class. Jasper and I opted out of the dance classes and stuck with regular gym. We always avoided the dances each year too but something tells me that was about to change.

Coach Clapp blew his whistle to quiet everyone down.

"This year, we will not be offering the optional dance classes that we had last year. Instead, the dances are mandatory for all students to attend this year and you will be learning the dances in gym class."

I heard groans and cheers. I groaned and looked at Jasper as he did the same to me. We had to go to the dances this year! Ugh!

I whispered to him, "I know you hate dances just as much as I do but let's just go to the dances together, I don't want to get stuck with Mike or someone else!"

"Okay, fine with me," he said. I knew he didn't want to get stuck with Jessica Stanley or someone else either.

I turned to look at Rose and could see Rose's eyes light up about the dances. She was definitely excited. And Emmett just looked confused. He was so big how was he going to swing dance?

"We also have to introduce a few more people so quiet please!" Coach Clapp yelled as everyone quieted down again.

"These will be your new dance instructors, Alex and Jane," Coach Gibson pointed to the brown-haired male and blond-haired female dance instructors. They looked around mid-30's.

"And this year, we have a new head of the costume department. She is a new student here and comes from Paris, France. She will be responsible for assigning costumes to everyone. If you have any questions about your costumes, please see her. So everyone, please welcome Alice Cullen!"

I heard more gasps, another Cullen? I looked around. Who could it be?

Then I saw the mystery pixie girl skip over to the coaches. She smiled and waved.

That solves the mystery. She was related to Edward. I heard relieved sighs in the crowd. And I saw Jasper sigh in relief. I giggled at him as he glared at me.

When it came to dances at our school, our school went all out to make sure that it really looked authentic. I never knew how serious it was until they said that we had to wear costumes. Oh God!

"Now, class, you will be learning a lot of advanced dance moves and some are quite dangerous," Jane said.

I could see Emmett smile and rub his hands together at the word dangerous.

"We have to be very careful for everyone's safety. We will be using padded mats when doing aerials, flips and lifts."

What did she just say? Aerials? Flips? Lifts? Oh NO!

"We'll start with the basics first and then gradually move on until you comfortable with the steps, we have about six weeks until Homecoming so you have plenty of time to practice and learn, please don't hesitate to ask us questions. Coach Gibson and Coach Clapp have been taught the basics to help you."

"Now, how many of you know what swing dancing is?" Alex asked.

I saw a few people raise their hand in the air.

"Okay, let's start at the beginning then, we'll show you a few film clips showcasing some samples of swing dancing so you can get an idea of what it's about."

Right then, a huge projector screen was pulled down and I heard some fast beat swing jazz music fill the air. They showed us clips from _Swing Kids_ and some other 1940's movies with swing dancing. It definitely looked complicated. I could see that people were shocked that we would be learning how to dance like that but I could feel the excitement as well.

Even Jasper and Emmett looked surprised at the flips and aerials. Are we really going to be able to do that? I was getting nervous but I started to get excited. It looked like a lot of fun.

"Alright, now, everyone pair up, guy, girl! We're going to start with the Lindy Hop," I heard Jane yell.

Jasper grabbed my arm and led me to the gym floor. We stood next to Emmett and Rose and I could see everyone else starting to pair up as well. I saw that Alice was paired with Mark Welch.

Alex and Jane started teaching us the steps and soon after everyone was having fun.

Who knew gym could actually be fun?!

* * *

**A/N: I was planning to add a daydream in here but decided against it. I know this was more fluff but I promise there are reasons for all of this and Bella's behavior. I'm planning to post the next chapter up later on this weekend. Please review and let me know what you think. **

**And Bella's uniform style in my head is more like Blair Waldorf from Gossip Girl. The classy, preppy style. Rose's uniform style is like Serena Van Der Woodsen on Gossip Girl. The more trendy, wild child style. I just hope I'm explaining their dress styles correctly.  
**

**Also, I don't swing dance or rock and roll dance. I don't dance period. I just did some research on it online and I love watching it in movies and stuff that I thought it would be fun to do it as their Homecoming and Winter Formal! These chapters won't come for a little bit but it will be fun! If you find that I'm saying anything wrong about the dancing, please let me know.**

**Please review!!!  
**


	8. Just a Girl

**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews and alerts! I know some of our are anticipating more E&B action so you should be happy with this chapter. There is E&B below! Woo Hoo!!!**

**Thanks again to my beta,**** Jess - Loves forever!! You are awesome and thanks for the support!!!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Twilight or Ally McBeal. I do own the storyline and any characters that I make up. **

**

* * *

Chapter 8 – Just a Girl**

Song – Just a Girl by No Doubt

* * *

After gym was over, we changed back into our uniforms and headed out to lunch. We walked over to the food court and grabbed Panda Express. Of course, Rose and Em had to pick a table right smack in the middle of the food court. For attention as usual.

Jasper and I rolled our eyes as we sat down. We always preferred to sit on the outside circle of the food court to avoid the attention. I pulled out the newspaper from my book bag and split it in half handing on half over to Jasper.

This was our daily Monday routine. We would always split the newspaper in half and read it during lunch and then switch it back after lunch was over. We started reading obviously zoning out the people around us.

"Are you two ever going to lighten up?" Emmett asked.

"Are you talking to us?" I asked pointing at me and Jasper.

"Yes! You two are so stiff all the time. With school, work, constant studying and now reading the newspaper during lunch. I swear you two look like old people and not high school students. You should be enjoying your last year here before you start college," Rose said.

"Well, this has always been our daily Monday routine and we're on the school newspaper staff. We should be reading the paper that we helped produce," Jasper said.

"Put it away! Put it away!" Emmett said while swatting our hands.

I looked at Jasper and sighed. There was no point in fighting with Rose and Emmett. We put away the newspaper and looked back at them.

I saw Jack Taylor from my first period class and some other guy whose name I didn't know come up to our table. He looked familiar and was part of the popular crowd as well.

"Yo! Captain! Rose!" they both said as they came over and did some guy handshake with Emmett and waved at Rose. Emmett found out he made football captain over the weekend and was so excited.

I could tell they were looking at Jasper and I so I tried to avoid their gazes and started focusing on eating my food.

Please don't say anything to me. Please don't bring up the incident last week. Maybe if I pretend that I'm not here then they won't notice me.

"So Em, are you going to introduce us to your sister and friend?" Jack said as I almost choked on what I was eating. Jasper had to pound his fist into my back.

How did he know I was Emmett's sister? Probably from the newspaper. Great …

"Yeah, guys, this is Bella and Jasper," Emmett said pointing at us.

"Bella, Jazz, this is Jack Taylor and Brian White," I looked up at them and gave them a friendly smile but then looked back down at my food.

I was never classified as a social, outgoing person. Yeah, I talked a lot with people that I knew well but I wasn't ever a person that would start up conversation first.

Jack pulled up a chair and sat down next to me. He had dark brown hair and brown eyes. He was cute, I guess. I knew that a lot of girls at school liked him because he was the epitome of tall, dark and handsome. I think he had his own fan club too.

"We have AP Econ together, right?"

"Yeah, right," I nodded.

"Do you like the teacher so far?"

"Yeah, he seems pretty interesting," I said.

I looked up at Rose and I could see her smirking at me. Emmett and Jasper were too busy talking to Brian.

This was just so uncomfortable. Someone help me now!

"How are you feeling from last week? You got hit pretty badly, are you okay?" he asked with concern.

Did he really care? At least he didn't laugh at me. I gave him a thankful look and said, "Yeah, I'm fine. The bump is almost gone anyways. Thanks for asking," I said.

I looked around and saw that people were staring at us. A lot of people, probably the entire food court. Lauren Mallory and her friends were glaring daggers at our table. Edward was sitting with Alice, Kate, Garrett, and Mark and they were glancing over at our table as well. Well, more like Edward was glaring or at least I thought he was. Why was he glaring at us? What was going on?

I could feel my heart pounding faster in my chest. I really really hated the attention. My face flushed red and I started fidgeting with my hands. It getting harder for me to breathe and I felt like I was having a panic attack. Rose noticed that I was uncomfortable and finally started talking to Jack bringing the attention off me.

Thank GOD! I took a deep breath. I started grabbing my things and got up to leave.

"Um, it was nice meeting both of you," I said as I quickly looked at Jack and Brian. "I have to head off to class a little early today, see you around!" I said as I shot up from the table rushing out of the food court. I was sure everyone saw what happened but I didn't care. I needed to get out of there or I would really pass out.

I heard Jasper calling my name from behind me, "Bells! Wait up!"

I stopped and waited for him to catch up with me.

"What happened in there?" he asked.

"I just freaked out. You know how I get around new people, Jazz. I just got nervous and saw everyone staring at us and it just made me feel really uncomfortable. I had to get some fresh air or I think I might've passed out."

He swung his arm around my shoulder as we walked toward the Science buildings.

"You know, being the center of attention may not be so bad. Don't let it get to you. You just need to calm down. It's nice to meet new people here and there and not everyone is like Mike Newton or Lauren Mallory. Who knows you might even like meeting some new friends," he said.

He walked me to my class and gave me a hug. "See you at the newspaper office!"

"Thanks Jazz!" I said giving him a smile as we he walked away.

Since I got to class early, I walked into the Biology classroom and noticed that there were lab tables that sat two people each. I grabbed a seat and threw on my earphones blasting my music from my iPhone.

_Take this pink ribbon off my eyes_

_I'm exposed _

_And it's no big surprise _

_Don't you think I know _

_Exactly where I stand _

_This world is forcing me _

_To hold your hand  
_

Why was I always so afraid around people? Why was I always so nervous? I was always leaning onto Rose, Emmett and Jasper. I've done that my whole life.

_'Cause I'm just a girl, little ol' me _

_Don't let me out of your sight _

_I'm just a girl, all pretty and petite _

_So don't let me have any rights _

_Oh... I've had it up to here! _

I did it mainly to Jasper and I started to feel bad. He was probably getting annoyed with me. He didn't like attention either but he didn't hate it like I did. And he was always a little more talkative around people than I was.

_The moment that I step outside _

_So many reasons _

_For me to run and hide _

_I can't do the little things _

_I hold so dear _

_'Cause it's all those little things _

_That I fear _

I thought more about what Jasper said. He was right. I shouldn't have to be so nervous but I guess I was always just used to being around people that I knew that I never really opened myself up to socialize with new people.

I could see people filtering into class now and knew that the bell was about to ring.

_'Cause I'm just a girl, _

_I'd rather not be _

_'Cause they won't let me drive _

_Late at night _

_I'm just a girl, _

_Guess I'm some kind of freak _

_'Cause they all sit and stare _

_With their eyes _

_I'm just a girl, _

_Take a good look at me _

_Just your typical prototype _

_Oh... I've had it up to here! _

_Oh... am I making myself clear? _

Maybe I should start being more open with people. I need to stop being so closed off. I know that it's going to be hard but I could at least socialize with people more and ask questions.

It's a new school year. What the heck, maybe it's time for a new Bella too!

_I'm just a girl _

_I'm just a girl in the world... _

_That's all that you'll let me be! _

_I'm just a girl, living in captivity _

_Your rule of thumb _

_Makes me worry some _

_I'm just a girl, what's my destiny? _

_What I've succumbed to _

_Is making me numb _

_I'm just a girl, my apologies _

_What I've become, is so burdensome_

_I'm just a girl, lucky me _

_Twiddle-dum there's no comparison _

I continued staring down at my iPhone as I felt someone sit down next to me. I turned to look at who was sitting next to me and saw the top of a familiar bronze auburn head as he was looking down at my iPhone. I was sure that my mouth dropped open in shock. There was Edward in all his glory sitting right next to me. He always looked so good in our school uniforms.

He was looking at me and then I saw him mouth something to me but I couldn't hear him.

Here we go again! Not another daydream. Enough is enough! I need to stop this right now! I closed my eyes and rubbed my hands against the temples of my head.

_Oh... I've had it up to! _

_Oh... I've had it up to!! _

_Oh... I've had it up to here_

_(Just a Girl – No Doubt)_

I heard the bell ring and I turned off my iPhone stuffing the earphones into my bag. That was just a dream. He's not really here in my class.

I turned to my right again to see who was really sitting next to me and saw Edward staring at me.

**GAH!**

Oh my GOD! That was real! I am so stupid! I completely ignored him and I acted like a bitch! He looked upset at me and I immediately felt bad.

**Do SOMETHING!**

"I'm so sorry," I whispered to him, I was lucky the teacher was late. "I didn't hear you and I thought–" well, I can't say that I thought I was daydreaming that he was sitting next to me or he would really think that I was retarded.

"I just … I just thought you were someone else," I lied as I looked at him hoping he would buy the story. I wasn't convinced that he believed me but he let it go and just said, "No, it's okay," as he shrugged his shoulders and looked away.

I was kicking myself for that and mentally cursing myself in my head. Really, the one time he talks to me and I have to do something stupid.

Just go for it and talk to him!

Just as I turned to Edward to say something I saw the teacher running into the class, "Sorry that I'm late class," he said.

Great! Just when I was about to start talking to him the teacher has to come in and interrupt.

He took attendance and had us take out our textbooks.

As the minutes clicked by, I started getting nervous again. The butterflies raging out of control in my stomach. I know that I said I would get over it and start new but maybe it was a good idea to do that tomorrow. Plus, this is Edward and I've been infatuated with him for how long now? No matter what I can never stop being a nervous wreck around him.

I could feel my palms start to sweat so I clenched my hands into fists. I tried to sit still and not fidget. Focus. Focus.

It was even harder for me to focus in this class compared to English. At least he was sitting behind me in that class. Now, he was sitting next to me and I had to make sure that I wouldn't glance his way or he would really think that I'm a freak.

I kept my focus towards the front of the class and I swear I thought I saw him glancing at me here and there from the corner of my eye but I was probably dreaming.

I tried my best to focus on what the teacher was saying. Finally, I heard him say, "Instead of assigning you lab partners this year, I decided that your lab partners will be who you are sharing your desk with. Here is the first assignment," he said as he handed out some papers.

Did he say that we were going to be lab partners?! LAB PARTNERS WITH EDWARD CULLEN?!

What am I going to do? My heart started racing a mile a minute. I was surprised that I wouldn't pass out from a heart attack right now.

I need to get out of here. I immediately shot my hand up in the air.

"Yes, Miss. Swan?"

"Mr. Banner, I have to use the ladies room, may I be excused?"

"Yes, you may."

I left my things at the table and rushed out of the room. I ran down the hall to the restroom and went inside. It was empty and I went over to the sink. I could feel my stomach tying into knots. I looked at the mirror staring at my reflection.

Get a grip, Bella! He's only a guy!

Yeah, but he's the guy that you have had a crush on since forever!

I can do this. It's only school work. It's not like our teacher told us that we had to be friends or anything else. It's just strictly school work. Get through the projects and I'll be okay. Focus on the task at hand. I need a good grade for Stanford so just do it and get it over with!

I splashed some water on my face and woke myself up. I patted my face dry and then headed back to the classroom.

I walked back in and saw Edward looking at me. He looked upset but I pushed it aside. It can't be because of me, right?

I did offend him at the start of class so great, he probably hates me now!

I could see that everyone started working on the assignment already so I sat down on my stool and decided to speak up, "So … d-did you g-get a chance to read over the assignment?"

Well, at least I got the damn sentence out and hopefully he understood it through my stuttering.

He nodded but didn't say anything. He's going to make this hard. This is just peachy.

"Listen, I'm really really sorry about earlier at the start of class. I feel really bad about what I did. I was a little out of it and I really didn't mean it. I know we're going to have to work together as partners so I really hope that it doesn't come in the way of our projects."

Good job! I actually said a full sentence without stuttering or sounding incoherent. Maybe I'll get better at this.

He turned to face me and I could tell he was trying to see if I was being sincere which I truly was. He paused for a moment and then said, "Don't worry about it," and flashed me a smile.

Oh please, don't do that. I could feel my heart taking off at lightning speed and I looked back down at the papers in my hands to focus. Then I realized that he doesn't even know who I am and we're supposed to be lab partners. Stupid Bella! I should probably introduce myself.

I looked up at him and said, "I'm sorry, I didn't get a chance to introduce myself to you earlier," _and I'm sure you have no idea who I am_, "I'm Bella, Bella Swan."

I saw a look of confusion on his face but then he smiled.

"Edward. Edward Cullen," I know, sigh!

Well, at least now he knows my name.

He started staring at me, which was making me nervous. I looked back down again desperately trying to avoid his gaze.

"We have to do a research project on the classification of animals. It looks like it's going to take some time. Did you want to get together after class some time and work on it at the library?" He said.

My heart was beating so fast that I could barely hear what he was saying. Did he just ask me on a study date? No, Idiot! He is your lab partner. You have to work on projects with him and it will have to be outside of class, DUH!

I was getting way ahead of myself. I shook my thoughts away from my head and nodded my head yes to him. I could see his eyes light up. What was that about?

I looked up at the clock and saw that it was close to the end of class.

"Um, maybe we should exchange contact information just in case," I said looking down at the papers for what seemed like the millionth time today.

"Sure," he said taking out his Blackberry Storm and handing it to me. I looked through my bag and handed him my iPhone.

I hesitated for a moment trying to think if I had anything incriminating on my cell phone that I didn't want him to see but realized that it was fine. I may have a huge crush on him but I wasn't that crazy to keep a picture of him on my phone as my background like what all the other fan girls did.

I finished entering in my information into his Blackberry. As he handed back my phone my hand lightly brushed against his hand. I felt a shock go up my arm. What was that? I flinched back and I was sure he felt the same since he muttered, "Sorry," under his breath.

"It's okay," I muttered back while I placed his Blackberry in front of him being careful not to touch him this time.

The bell rang and I jumped out of my seat. No need to sit here longer than I need to. I saw that Edward beat me to it and said, "See you tomorrow, Bella!" as he flashed a crooked smile at me and walked out the door.

I don't know how long I stood there frozen staring at the door. I gulped. This was definitely going to be hard.

I walked toward the newspaper office and opened the door. Jasper caught my expression and pulled me aside. I told him what happened and he looked happy for me but he knew I was freaking out on the inside.

He tried calming me down and it helped somewhat. It was Monday and we had to start researching for what to write for the next edition. I started going online searching for topics and before I knew it the class period was over.

We had to work at the bookstore today so we rushed over to the store. By the time, my work shift was over. I was exhausted. We headed back to the dorms and I walked into my room to be attacked by Rose.

"I have been waiting for you all day, where you have you been and what happened at lunch?" she said.

"Ugh, I'm so tired Rose, can we talk about this tomorrow?"

"No, you have to tell me now!" she said as she crossed her arms across her chest.

I launched into the story about my classes with Edward and then about what happened at lunch. She always knew I as shy and when I told her about lunch I could see her eyes soften. She came over to me and put her arm around my shoulder.

"Bells, I'm sorry that you felt so uncomfortable at lunch."

"No, it's okay. I have decided to turn over a new leaf. Starting tomorrow I will start opening up to meeting new people and I will try my best not to freak out," I said.

"That's good because you should've seen those guys! Jack was totally trying to talk to you! And all these guys were staring at you! You're hot and you just don't know it, Bells!" she said.

Ugh! Great! Way to make me feel more comfortable about my new leaf being turned.

"Oh and we were supposed to go shopping today," she said.

"I'm so sorry about that. Well, I don't have work tomorrow, can we go tomorrow instead? I'm so tired," I pleaded.

"Fine, we'll go tomorrow. And what happened with Edward in your classes?"

I groaned. "Please don't make me talk about it. He thinks I'm an idiot!"

"Why? What did you do?"

I quickly went over the story about Biology and she stared at me in shock.

"Bella, you really are stupid! You need to get your head out of the clouds!"

"I know! Do I need you to remind me? What do I do now? We have to work on this project together and we're lab partners for the rest of the year and I swear he hates me!" I said.

"I don't think he hates you but we need to do damage control. You need to contact him first about meeting up for your project. If you show him the effort that you want to work with him he should be fine. I think if anything he probably thinks you hate him."

"WHAT?! Why would he think that?!" I said.

"Well, your response to him wasn't too friendly if you ask me."

"I knew it! I screwed things up! The one chance I get to talk to him and I mess it up! I'm such a loser!" I screamed into my pillow.

"Chill, Bells! Everything will be fine. Damage Control, remember?!" she said, "Now, this is what you're going to do tomorrow …"

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**A/N: Hope you liked it! I wanted to show more about how Bella is just shy and doesn't feel comfortable opening up to new people. And now that she's part of the popular crowd, her life has been flipped upside down. I hope that is what you get from this chapter.  
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**At least there is E&B! And there will be more coming soon ... I will be updating with the next chapter soon! I'm sure you're anxious to know about Operation Damage Control! **

**Thanks for reading!! Please review! **


	9. Move Along

**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews and alerts!! Since the site was down for awhile I will be updating with the next chapter shortly.**

**Thanks again to my beta, Jess - Loves forever!! You are awesome and thanks for the support!!!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Twilight or Ally McBeal. I do own the storyline and any characters that I make up.**

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**Chapter 9 – Move Along**

Song – Move Along by All-American Rejects

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I woke up this morning feeling horrible. I couldn't sleep well last night because I still felt bad about what happened yesterday.

Rose assured me that Operation Damage Control would work. I wasn't fully convinced but I decided to go along with it. Rose even picked out what I would wear today saying that I needed to stop being so conservative with my school uniform.

I took my shower and went to put on my uniform that she laid out for me on my bed. I threw on the short white tennis skirt – luckily it wasn't that short but shorter than the normal skirts that I wear – and the tight light blue short-sleeved button up silk blouse. I loosely put on a navy blue bow tie around the collar of my shirt and slipped on my white flats.

There was no way she was just having me wear this by itself so I grabbed a navy blue cable knit sweater and tied it across my shoulders.

Rose came out of the bathroom looking at me. She nodded her head and approved. I was glad she didn't give me shit about the sweater, probably because I wasn't actually wearing it.

I curled my hair and swept it to the right clipping a barrette to hold it in place on the side. I swept my bangs to the side and put on some light makeup.

I grabbed my book bag and waited for Rose as she finished getting ready. She was wearing a black pencil skirt that was extremely tight. I wondered how she could breathe and walk in that thing. She wore a scoop neck white long sleeved shirt with a black vest and had a black necktie loosely tied around her neck. She was also wearing three inch black stilettos. I have no idea how she even walks in those. We stepped outside and started heading to class.

"Don't forget what I told you to do and don't be nervous! Just think of him as being Jasper!" she said.

I rolled my eyes at her. Right, like that was going to be easy.

Last night she gave me the run down about Operation Damage Control. I protested about some of the things she wanted me to do so we met in the middle. I was not going to use my boobs as bait or flutter my eyes. Why she would even think that is a good idea, is beyond me!

I could feel stares on us again but pushed it out of my mind. That was the least of my worries. I had to make sure that I did this right. Don't screw it up!

Think of Edward as Jasper. Think of Edward as Jasper. That thought ran through my mind all night. It would be nearly impossible to think that way about Edward but I had to try in order for me to feel comfortable around him.

I took deep breaths as I headed towards first period. Be in the zone. I can DO this!

I got to my first period class and saw that Mark and Jack were already there. Jack waved to me and I decided to step up and start being friendly. I owed this to my last year here. I should be enjoying this, not torturing myself!

I waved and smiled back. He motioned for me to sit next to them so I took the leap. I went over and sat in an empty desk next to them. I saw everyone in class staring at us as I sat down.

"Hey Bella," Jack said with a smile.

"Hey Jack," I smiled back.

"You look really nice today," he said. I could feel my cheeks turning pink.

"Thanks," I said softly and gave him a slight smile.

Jack turned to Mark. "Mark, this is Bella, Emmett's sister. Bella, this is Mark," he said as he pointed to us.

I gave Mark a smile and he smiled back. This isn't so bad.

Think of them as being Jasper and Emmett.

With that thought the rest of the class went by smoothly. We even joked about Emmett and I could tell that they were really nice guys.

I headed over to Calculus and saw Jasper. He was asking me if I felt better today. I told him that I felt much better and he looked relieved. I had called him last night after I talked to Rose to fill him in on what was going on. He agreed that I was stupid too and that I should definitely go with Operation Damage Control.

I also told him about my first class this morning and that I got to know Mark and Jack a little bit more and I could tell he was happy for me. He always worried about me and I knew that it was time for me to grow up. I couldn't burden Jasper, Rose or Emmett anymore. I had to be independent.

As I headed into third period, I could feel the butterflies growing in my stomach. It was time to initiate Operation Damage Control. I had to do this and get it done. I walked into the room and saw that he was already there. There goes my heart pounding heavily in my chest.

_Just ignore it, keep going._

He looked up at me and our eyes locked. I felt myself getting lost in the intensity of the green orbs staring back at me.

The feeling that I got was even better than all my daydreams that I had of us staring into each other's eyes. This felt real and I swear I felt that he could see who I was. It was like he was seeing all of me.

I snapped out of the gaze realizing that people were noticing us and walked toward my desk. I gave him a smile before sitting down. I think I caught him off guard because he looked surprised but he smiled back.

_Oh God! He really did think that I hated him. I need to fix this!_

I turned around in my seat to face him and looked at him this time. He was wearing a navy blue blazer over a white button down shirt and a maroon necktie with black slacks. He always looked handsome in his school uniform and stood out among all the other boys.

I had to remind myself to be confident. No more shy Bella. Operation Damage Control. Just do what Rose told you to do.

"Hey, Edward," I said while smiling. I then had to turn on my sexy voice. According to Rose, it was an essential step for flirting.

"So how about we meet on Thursday after classes to work on our biology project _together_?" I purred. Rose had told me to emphasize the word "together" so that he knew that I wanted to work with him.

He turned back and gave me a smile while leaning closer to me, "Let's meet at 4pm and how about dinner afterwards too?"

His hands were on his desk so I reached over and placed my hand on top of his. Rose told me that touching was always a good thing. I could feel the tingle of electricity shoot through my arm, "That sounds great!"

I screamed inside internally. I had no idea how I got so confident.

Then, I heard someone calling my name and realized that someone was waving their hand in front of my face.

"Bella, Bella?"

I shook my head and snapped out of my daze.

Wait, was that all a dream? I looked down at his desk and saw that one of my hands was placed on top of his.

_OH MY GOD! What was I doing?!_

"Did you want to talk to me about something?" He said shyly.

Shit! None of that happened. I immediately pulled my hand back and felt my face turning as red as a tomato.

I was so embarrassed and he was probably wondering why I was touching him. I am such an idiot! I wasn't actually going to do that even if I had initiated Operation Damage Control. I wasn't the type to go around touching people. Now he probably thinks that I can't keep my hands to myself and that I touch everyone. He probably thinks that I'm some sort of stupid bimbo slut like Lauren Mallory.

_Great job, Bella! _I have to play this off. Get back on track with the mission!

I snapped my head up ready to initiate Operation Damage Control for real this time but I felt my eyes locking with two green orbs.

**GULP!** I froze.

I can't do this! It's Edward! It's not Mark or Jack.

I tried to speak but nothing was coming out. I was at a loss for words.

Come on, you can do this! Just spit it out!

"Um, uh, a-are you b-busy on Thursday after s-school to meet at the library for our biology project?" I stammered.

Well, that all went to shit. Why do I even try? I knew my face was bright red at this point and I tried avoiding his eyes by looking around the room.

He looked surprised and started thinking again. He ran a hand through his hair. Was he fidgeting?

I wasn't sure what to do so I sat there still facing him waiting for him to answer. I could hear crickets chirping and feel my insides churning. After what seemed like an hour, he finally spoke, "Sure, I'll meet you at the library. How does 4pm sound?"

"That sounds great," I squeaked and immediately turned back around to face the front of the classroom. I could've sworn I heard him chuckle to himself but pushed that thought away. Probably my imagination again.

For the rest of class, I didn't turn around and when the bell rang I jumped out of my seat and rushed to the gym.

I was so embarrassed and felt like such a retard. I didn't want him saying anything to me about me touching him. Why did I do that?!

I saw Rose in the locker rooms and pulled her aside.

"Operation Damage Control Failed Miserably!" I hissed under my breath hoping no one could hear us.

"Why? What happened?"

I told her what happened this morning up until last period. I started to cringe afraid of her reaction especially since I had another daydream but she didn't look mad or disappointed.

"Well, at least you asked him first even though it didn't go exactly as we planned but you still did good! Even though you touched him without really doing it consciously! It's still a good thing!" she said.

"I still can't believe I did that! He probably thinks I'm some sort of bimbo slut like Lauren Mallory! I don't go around touching people, Rose! It was so embarrassing!"

"He's not going to think that. Trust me, I know how guys are and you don't have a reputation for being like Lauren Mallory so don't worry about it. At least you're making some progress."

"I'm still so nervous around him but I guess it's going to take some time," I said.

"We'll work on it. Let's go!" she said as we finished changing into our gym clothes and headed out into the gym.

We saw Emmett and Jasper sitting on the bleachers and went to sit down next to them. I scanned the gym and saw Mark and Alice sitting on the opposite side of the gym. He saw me and waved. I waved back with a smile.

The coaches came out and we had to start practicing the Lindy Hop again. We were definitely starting to get the hang of it.

Before gym was over, we were told that we would be moving onto the Jitterbug next and that we would start basic flips next week.

After gym, we headed to lunch at the food court. I felt a lot better today so I knew that I wouldn't let the stares affect me.

We grabbed sandwiches at Togo's and went to the same table in the middle of the food court. I guess it was "our" table now since no one claimed it.

We started eating and chatting away when I saw Mark with two other football players and a girl walk over to our table. The girl was short and petite. She was pretty with long straight silky black hair and brown eyes. She looked like a Japanese porcelain doll. One of the football players had his arm wrapped around her so I assumed they were a couple. He was tall and lean with blonde hair and brown eyes. The other football player next to Mark was huge like Emmett. He was African American and had a huge smile that made him look like a giant teddy bear.

"Captain! Rose!" they boomed.

They looked at us and this time, Emmett knew to introduce us.

"Guys, this is my sis, Bella and Rose's brother, Jasper," he said while pointing to us.

"Bells, Jazz, this is Mark Welch, Scott Harper, Steve Jenkins and Jenny Yamamoto."

We waved and smiled. They all grabbed seats around us and started talking to Emmett and Jasper. Jenny turned to me and Rose and started chatting with us as well. I had recognized her from some of my past classes. I found out that she's been dating Steve since freshmen year. And then I realized that she was in my AP Calc class with Jasper.

Everyone seemed nice and I was definitely starting to feel more comfortable. I could feel the stares still but let it go.

As we continued to talk, I found out that Jenny was on the cheerleading squad. I saw Rose's face scrunch up.

"You're a cheerleader?" I asked sounding very surprised. She just seemed so normal not that there was anything wrong with being a cheerleader but with Lauren Mallory as the captain of the cheerleading squad I was surprised that anyone normal would be on the squad to deal with her.

"Yeah, you're probably wondering how I deal with Lauren, right?" Jenny said laughing as both Rose and I nodded our heads.

"Don't worry, I get that a lot. I tend to tune her out. Everyone on the squad can't stand her."

"Really? Then how come she's the captain?"

"Her parents gave the school a 'donation' and in return they let her be captain. It sucks but there was nothing we could do about it," she said.

"Wait, then who are her friends that she hangs out with?" Rose asked.

"Oh, those aren't cheerleaders. They are just bimbos," Jenny said as we laughed.

Rose and I ended up exchanging contact information with Jenny so that we could hang out with her again. She was so nice and I was glad to make a new girl friend here at school.

As lunch came to an end, I said bye to everyone and then headed off to Biology. I was so caught up with lunch and what happened that I almost forgot that Edward was in this class.

I walked in relieved to see that he wasn't there yet. I sat down and took out my notebook and textbook. I looked up toward the front of the classroom and saw Edward strolling into class. He flashed me a smile, which made my heart melt and this time I forced myself to look at him and smile back.

Mr. Banner came in right as Edward sat down next to me so we couldn't talk. And for the rest of the class, we didn't get a chance to say anything to each other as Mr. Banner lectured the entire time and I was frantically taking notes.

As soon as the bell rang, I got up from my seat and grabbed my bag. I decided it was my turn to say something to him before I left so I put on a brave face, looked up at him and said, "Bye, Edward!" as I threw him a smile and walked out of class.

I swear I thought I saw him standing there in shock. Hmmm … maybe I was just imagining things again …

I finished up at the newspaper office for the day and walked back to the dorms. I saw Rose waiting for me in our room. She already changed out of her uniform and was wearing tight skinny jeans and a black tank top with a red hoodie. I was surprised she was dressed so casually.

I think she noticed my expression and said, "I'm too tired to dress up today to go shopping."

"You were all for shopping yesterday, why are you tired today?" I asked.

She gave me a sly smile and it clicked in my head, "Oh, EW! Don't tell me! I really don't need to know!" trying hard to erase all mental images of Rose and Emmett together.

"Change and let's go!" she ordered.

I went to my closet and grabbed my jean capris, a tight white t-shirt and a black sweatshirt. I changed in the bathroom and put on my sneakers as we headed out to the mall.

I haven't shopped with Rose since junior high so I didn't know if I should be scared or if this would actually be fun. She grabbed my arm and led me into H&M. I didn't try on too many things but that was mainly because most of the stuff she chose for me to try on was more her style and I refused to try it on. She was a lot more revealing with her body parts than me when it came to clothes.

After a few more stores, we walked into Banana Republic, one of my favorite stores. I had to repeat to her again, "Rose, nothing too showy, trashy or too tight, got it?!"

Not that she could find anything like that for me here in BR but I figured I would repeat it to her just in case.

"Fine!" she said as she rolled her eyes at me.

After twenty minutes, I went into the dressing room as she handed me some clothes for me to try on. I put on the tight black pencil skirt that she gave me as well as a sleeveless silky navy blue ruffled collar blouse.

I stepped out of the dressing room and her jaw dropped.

"Bells! You look amazing! You have to get this outfit!"

"Well, I like the shirt but the skirt is way too tight! It's wrapped so tight around my butt that my skin can barely breathe!"

She rolled her eyes at me, "Bella, its banana republic and it's not that tight, and they aren't capable of making anything too tight here so this is perfect for you! If you don't get this, I'm going to get it for you!"

"Fine!" I huffed seeing that I wouldn't win the argument.

After a few more stores and a stop at Pink by Victoria Secret where Rose insisted that I get new "girly" pyjamas and underwear, I finally made it out of the mall alive. Thank God!

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**A/N: So this is mainly a fluff chapter but it had to be done to introduce some new characters into the story. The next chapter is the study date!! =) Please Review!!! **


	10. Things I'll Never Say

**A/N: Here is the next chapter! I really like this chapter so hopefully you'll like it too!!! **

**Thanks again to my beta, Jess - Loves forever!! You are awesome and thanks for the support!!!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Twilight or Ally McBeal. I do own the storyline and any characters that I make up.**

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**Chapter 10 – Things I'll Never Say**

Song – Things I'll Never Say by Avril Lavigne

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It was Thursday. Dooms Day. Okay, I'm over-exaggerating but today I'm supposed to meet Edward at the library for our biology project.

Dum-da dum-dum DUM!

Being nervous was an understatement. I was a disaster. A) because that would mean that we would be working together. And B) because we would be alone. Well, not technically since we'll be at the library but you catch my drift.

Maybe I should fake that I'm sick. Possible Option. Not believable though since he saw me in English and Biology today and I looked perfectly healthy.

Or I could say that I finished my part and that he could work on his part on his own. Not Possible. That would just be mean and I'm not a mean person.

Or just go with it and get it over with. Be confident like how Rose taught me and think of Edward as being like any other guy. Probably the Best Option.

I sighed. I'm just going to do this and get it over with. I can do this.

I finally snapped myself out of my thoughts while sitting down in front of the computer at the newspaper office. Yesterday and today my nervousness still did not get any better when I was around him. I thought it would but it was still there lingering and not going away. We still didn't talk much around each other in our classes because there was never a chance to talk and as soon as the bell would ring for either class, I would jet out of the room as soon as humanly possible.

I met a few more people from Emmett's football team and some cheerleaders through Jenny. Everyone was nice and I was surprised at how I could have not know any of them throughout all these years while I was at RCP.

Rose was on edge because she knew that Lauren was planning her revenge for the hair removal incident that happened last year. I wasn't sure what Lauren would be capable of doing but we were all on the look out for suspicious activity.

Rose forced me into the outfit that she made me buy at Banana Republic the other day. I was extremely self-conscious today because I knew my ass was out there for everyone to see. I had tucked my blouse into my skirt and Rose gave me a black belt that wrapped high around my waist. Then she forced me to wear black stilettos, which were extremely hard to walk in. I was surprised that I didn't fall yet.

I was really hoping that I could go back to my dorm to change before the library study session.

The staring was on overload today and I could swear that eighty percent of the stares were focused on my ass. Whenever I got the chance I tried hiding behind Jasper or Emmett to shield myself.

Just as the bell rang, I got up to leave hoping to make it back to my dorm to change and then head over the library. I had thirty minutes. Plenty of time.

Then I heard Angela call out my name. She wanted to go over a few things with me before the next issue came out on Monday.

After going over with a few changes to my column, I looked at the clock. 3:58pm. DAMN IT! There was no time for me to change. I better go straight to the library so that I'm not late.

I grabbed my bag and headed out the door towards the library. Our library was the size of a university library. There were six floors and plenty of desks, tables and cubicles for studying.

As I got closer to the library, I realized that we didn't set a location on where to meet so I assumed that I would wait in the lobby. I walked in and scanned the lobby. I didn't see him anywhere so I grabbed my iPhone out of my bag.

Just as I started typing a text message to him, I heard a deep velvety voice from behind me, "Hey Bella."

I jumped. Not from being scared but from being nervous. He laughed as I turned around to face him.

"H-Hi Edward, yy-ou scared me," I lied.

"I-I was just about to text you. I wasn't sure where you wanted to meet," I said as I stuffed my phone back into my bag.

I saw him looking at me. It looked like he was checking me out but yeah, right! Why would he check me out? Either way, it was the same look he had today when I walked into English and Biology. It was probably nothing.

He looked away after I caught him staring and he said, "So do you have a preference on where you want to work on our project?"

"Well, the science research books are on the fifth floor so why don't we head up there and find a table?"

"Sure, let's go," he said walking toward the elevator.

The library wasn't that full but I could see students staring at us or more like ogling at Edward. They were probably wondering why he was even talking to me.

As we took the elevator up to the fifth floor it was silent. We got out and I started walking toward the study area where Jasper and I always studied at. The library was our second home. We spent all of our free time studying and always studied on the fifth floor. We even had our own table. Let's just say that were extremely determined to get into our top choice for college.

I sensed that Edward was following behind me. I went over to a group of tables and picked an empty table to set my stuff down. I saw that no one else was in the room and sighed in relied knowing that I would be able avoid the stares.

He walked over and put his stuff down next to me. We both sat down in the seats taking out our materials.

"You seem to know this floor extremely well," he said.

I shrugged. "Jasper and I come here to study all the time. We always study on the fifth floor and in this study room. It's usually empty and helps with having a quiet environment to get things done."

I turned to look at him. He looked … sad. I don't know. I couldn't describe the look he had on his face with what I had just said but I didn't say anything offensive, did I?

I better not be freakin daydreaming again. I can't afford to do that studying with him here. That would be horrible.

There was an awkward silence so I decided to speak up. "It looks like we're going to need these books for our report," I said breaking the tension in the air and handing him a list of books.

He looked at the list and nodded. We decided to split up looking for the books we would need for the report. We met back at the table and started looking for data that we would need. I tagged pages in the books that would need photocopying.

After two hours, we had a stack of books and stack of papers that we photocopied for our report. We both grabbed papers and started highlighting important facts that we would need.

We focused on the project at hand and that was fine with me. I knew that if I opened my mouth I would sound like an idiot and he would definitely wish that he had a different lab partner.

I was scanning an article when I felt Edward staring at me. I looked toward his direction and asked, "Um … did you need help with something?"

"Did I ever do anything to you to upset you?" he said being completely serious.

WHAT?!

I was waiting for him to start laughing and joking around but I looked into his green eyes and saw that they were dark and serious.

"Um … No, why would you think that?" I said and looked away towards the photocopies of the papers.

"Nevermind, it's nothing," he said while running his hand through his hair. Probably a nervous habit.

Wait, was he nervous?

It was silent again and it was really annoying me about what he asked. I had to find out what was wrong.

"Did I offend you with something I said?" I asked him turning to look at him.

He looked shocked like I was crazy or something. Great. He really thinks I'm an idiot.

It was silent for a moment and then he said softly, "I'm asking you if I upset you and you're asking me if you offended me?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "Well, you seem to be really upset and I wasn't sure if it was something I said or did."

"No, No, it's nothing you said or did. It's just …" he paused and I motioned for him to keep going.

"Okay, how do I say this? It just seems that I might have done something to you to make you dislike me," he said as he shrugged his shoulders.

Did I hear him right? He thinks _I_ don't like him? Oh, if he only knew the truth, which I was never going to tell him.

I gulped. What do I do? I need to say something to make him not think that I hate him. Ugh! The man of my dreams thinks that I hate him. Great job, Bella.

"No, I don't dislike you. We just met and I barely even know you. Why would you think that?" I said.

I saw him wince slightly with what I said and I couldn't figure out why. He is so confusing!

"No, it's nothing."

I could tell he was trying to brush it off but my curiosity got the best of me and I wanted to know what he was thinking.

"Edward, you really need to tell me if I did something wrong. I don't dislike you and I don't want you to think that. We're lab partners for the rest of the year and I really hope that we can get along. I don't want it to be awkward between us," I said sincerely.

He looked at me and then said, "You didn't do anything wrong."

I still didn't buy it and I think he saw the expression on my face. He sighed while running his hand through his hair again.

"Are you sure you want to know?"

I nodded yes and said, "Yes, please. I really want to know why you think that."

He took a deep breath and mumbled, "Okay, well, it just seems from your actions that you hate me."

Okay now he said it out loud and it made me feel even worse. He really did think that I hated him but why? Didn't he see me blushing like crazy all the time whenever I tried to talk to him or even look at him? You'd have to be blind to not notice it! And didn't he know that he always made me nervous with my damn stuttering? Good God, was he deaf and blind?

"Like what actions?" I said trying to push for more.

"Well, you always seem like you are avoiding me. I get a sense that you feel uncomfortable around me as if I did something wrong to upset you. And the first day in Biology class you seemed to be really upset and angry with me. I just didn't know if I did anything to make you mad. If I did, I'm really sorry for whatever it was," his voice sounded sad and he frowned.

Now I was in shock. Completely and utter shock. He thought I hated him. Because of my damn shyness and nervousness he truly thought that I hated him. Of all the times I avoided him so I wouldn't feel uncomfortable he actually thought I did it because I didn't like him. I felt horrible. I could almost feel the tears spilling over in my eyes and I knew I had to hold them back. I didn't know that I could ever make someone feel like this. And he looked upset. I was causing him to be like this and that made me feel worse.

Edward Cullen thought that I hated him and that he did something wrong. He was so wrong but I knew that I couldn't tell him what I really felt inside. I had to think of something to get me out of this mess. I really outdid myself this time.

"Bella, are you okay?" He asked waving his hand in front of my face.

Damn it! Now, he's going to think I'm a bigger idiot than I already am.

"I was just thinking," I said as I shook my head.

"Edward, I'm so sorry that you thought you did something wrong to me for me to hate you. I don't hate you. You never did anything wrong to me." I saw his eyes light up.

"I'm just not good with people. I'm not used to getting to know new people and I have a habit of getting nervous," I said while my cheeks flushed pink. Well, it was somewhat true but he didn't need to know that I was the most nervous around him.

"As for that first day of Biology Class, well, you promise not to laugh me?" I said. Here goes, I might as well tell him. I would rather him know then think that I hated him.

He nodded his head. "You really have to promise and you cannot tell anyone! Jasper, Emmett and Rose are the only people who know and if anyone else finds out I will hunt you down and kill you."

Wow, where was this confidence coming from?

"I promise I won't laugh at you and I won't tell anyone, Bella," he said.

"Okay, here it goes …" I took a deep breath. "I have a tendency to get lost in my thoughts and daydreams," I said quickly hoping he wouldn't catch what I said.

He looked at me confused and then said, "Daydreams?"

"Yes," I squeaked as my cheeks turned a brighter pink. "It's really embarrassing so when I saw you …" I paused. I can't tell him that I thought it was him and that it turned out to really be him sitting there next to me.

"I thought I was seeing someone else and I knew it wasn't real so I was frustrated with myself. Only then I realized that it was a real person sitting next to me and it was you. I was just upset that I was getting caught up in my dreams again. I tend to mix my dreams with reality."

There I said it. I didn't want to look at his face so I buried my face in my hands and said,

"I know you're probably thinking that I'm crazy! Just laugh and get it over with!"

I was waiting for the laughter to come but didn't hear anything. I felt two hands grabbing my hands trying to pull them away from my face. I could feel the tingle shoot through my hands at his touch. It wasn't an uncomfortable tingle. It felt good.

I looked at him and saw that he was smiling at me, "Bella, I'm not going to laugh at you and I don't think you're crazy."

"Really?"

"Really. I think that's great that you tend to have an overactive imagination. Isn't that what life's all about? To dream?"

Wow, he really surprised me.

"Well, I don't know if a lot of people agree with you there but you sure have my vote!" I said with a smile.

"Have you seen any naked dancing babies yet?" he teased. **(A/N: From Ally McBeal)**

"No!" I yelled as he laughed. I wanted to reach up and swat his arm with my hand but I felt pressure on it.

I looked down and realized that his hands were still holding onto my hands and I could feel the blood rush to my cheeks. He saw my face flush and looked down at our hands and let go.

"Sorry about that," he said.

"No, it's okay," I said softly.

"So are we okay now? Especially now that you know my secret?" I said. Not that he even knew the whole secret. He only knew a small portion of it.

"Yeah, I'm sorry for thinking that you hated me."

"Well, I'm sorry for making you think that I hated you."

We laughed.

"So are you going to the football game on Friday night?" he asked.

"Yeah, unfortunately, Emmett and Rose are forcing me to go so I have no choice."

"Wow, so you must really hate football, huh?"

"No, it's not that. I just don't know anything about it. I'm already a confused enough person as it is and I don't think that spending my free time watching a sport that I have no idea what is going on would help with the confusion. It'll just make things worse," I groaned.

He laughed. Oh how I loved when he laughed. Today was the first time I've heard it for real this time and not in my dreams and it was amazing.

I looked down at my watch and realized that it was time for dinner. I was supposed to meet Jasper at the food court at 7pm.

"I'm sorry, Edward but it's getting late and I have to meet Jasper for dinner. Did you want to work on the project again next week?" I asked.

I could've sworn I saw a hint of sadness in his eyes, what was that about? I thought we were fine now. But then it was gone and he smiled me at me and nodded yes.

"Same time, same place?" he asked as we started gathering up our things.

"Sure," I said.

We walked out of the library and he turned to me giving me the heart stopping crooked smile, "This was great, Bella. See you tomorrow!"

I couldn't say anything back in return because I was dazed but I waved bye to him as I headed toward the dorms. I tried to walk like a normal person but I was sure I was skipping. I felt like I was on air.

I finally had the guts to talk to Edward and it was great! I even opened up to him and I felt so comfortable! I must've stepped into my dorm room with the biggest smile on my face. I walked over to my bed and barely even noticed Rose's hand waving in front of my face.

"BELLA! EARTH TO BELLA!" she yelled.

"Huh, what?" I blinked my eyes as I broke away from my daze.

"What happened? I was calling your name and waving my hand in front of your face for the past three minutes. You were completely out of it!" Rose said.

"Sorry about that!" I said.

"So how was the study date? Judging from your reaction it looks like it went very well. Or were you dreaming again?"

I glared at her before launching into the details of what happened at the library.

"You have it so bad for him! I can't believe you told him about your daydreaming! And he didn't think you were crazy?! He must be in love with you! I still can't believe that he thought you hated him. What did you do to the poor thing?"

"I guess my nervousness and shyness got to me and he noticed. I had no idea that it affected him or that he even cared. And he is not in love with me."

Ha! Fat Chance!

"Bells, like I said, he's into you. Why else would he care about you hating him? And you don't see him at lunch. He stares at you every day. I'm surprised you never noticed before," she said.

"He does not stare at me at lunch. I'm sure he's just wondering what's going on at our table because of the herd of non-stop people coming over to introduce themselves to us every day."

"You're doing it again!" she said.

"Doing what?"

"Being Stupid! I'm not going to say anything anymore then. You'll figure it out on your own."

I guess I will figure it out on my own. Not that there was anything to figure out. We just started getting to know each other. I wasn't even sure if we were friends or not.

I was definitely glad that I was finally able to open myself up. It was only the first week of school but now I had new friends and I finally talked to Edward. What else could happen?

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**A/N: What do you think so far?! Please review!! **

**The next chapter is the football game! And more drama to come! =) **


	11. Supermassive Black Hole

**A/N: Wow! I got so many alerts and favorites added for this. I'm so happy! I hope you are enjoying this story. It makes me laugh and I hope I'm doing the same for you. Now on with the football game and some more drama!  
**

**Thanks again to my beta, Jess - Loves forever!! You are awesome and thanks for the support!!!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Twilight or Ally McBeal. I do own the storyline and any characters that I make up.**

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**Chapter 11 – Supermassive Black Hole**

Song – Supermassive Black Hole by Muse

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It was Friday and the day of the first football game of the season. The entire school was buzzing with excitement. There were a lot of expectations that the team was going to kick ass this year because of Emmett being on the team. He was definitely feeling confident.

Classes went by quickly today. Edward wasn't in English and Biology and I figured it was because of the game. Emmett had mentioned that on tournament days they had practice and were excused from class. Lucky Butts!

Jasper and I walked back to his dorm room after we finished up at the newspaper office to meet Rose. She wanted to talk to us about something important and told us to meet her there. I had no idea why.

We walked into his building and as soon as we got to his door, Rose flung it open. She motioned for us to go inside.

She smiled at us sweetly and I knew that she wanted something.

"What do you want from us, Rose?" I asked walking inside as she closed the door behind us.

"How do you know I want something?" she purred.

"Because I can spot that smile a mile away, what do you want? If this has to do with getting revenge on Lauren Mallory, count me out beca–" she cut me off.

"This doesn't have anything to do with Lauren Mallory, besides she hasn't done anything to me yet … but I know its coming. Anyways, I wanted to ask Jasper something," she said smiling at him.

"What do you want, Rose?" he crossed his arms and glared at her. He knew that she was going to ask him something bad that he didn't want to do.

What does this have to do with me then? Why did she make me come here?

"Well, I was wondering if Emmett and I can stay in here over the weekend and if you can stay with Bella in her dorm. You can sleep on my bed," she said.

"Is that it?" he said.

"Yeah, why?" she said.

"Because I thought it was going to be something more serious like you needed me to help you cheat on a test or something else."

"So you two don't mind?" She asked as she looked between the both of us.

It was really no big deal. We had to share rooms occasionally in the past because of roommate problems. We were used to it. Jasper was like a brother to me and always will be.

"No, why would we mind? I mean as long as we have separate beds, we're good!" I said.

"Yeah, it's fine but I'm taking the Xbox with me. I'm sure Emmett won't need it over the weekend," Jasper said.

"Stop! The little sister is in the room. I don't need to hear more!" I shrieked as I put my hands over my ears.

We left Jasper to pack his things and the Xbox while Rose and I went back to our room to get ready.

I picked up Emmett's jersey over the week when I was at work to wear it to the game tonight. Rose insisted that I had to show support by wearing a football jersey. She tried to make me buy Edward's jersey at first but I put my foot down on that.

That would just prove that I was a fan girl and I'm not.

I threw on my dark skinny jeans, a white long-sleeved t-shirt to cover my arms in case it got cold and the navy blue football jersey. I put on my converse sneakers and curled my hair putting it up into a ponytail while tying a yellow ribbon around it.

Rose was wearing the same navy blue football jersey but with a short white tennis skirt and white flats. She also had Emmett's letterman jacket and threw it on.

I heard a knock on the door and opened it to find Jasper standing in the doorway. He was wearing jeans and a grey t-shirt with the football team mascot and logo on it. He came in and put down his bag and we left to the stadium.

I could see everyone in the dorm hallways rushing to get ready for the game. Pompoms and flags were scattered around the floor and everyone had put on a jersey or some sort of school t-shirt or sweatshirt.

We made our way to the stadium hearing the loud roars and cheering. We walked in and the entire stadium was lit up with bright lights. It was almost fully packed and I wondered where we would be sitting.

Rose led us over where our team was on the left side of the field. Apparently, there were VIP seats for family and close friends so we had seats already reserved for us.

We weren't too far from the field, around five rows away. I looked up and saw a sea of blue and yellow pompoms and flags being waved. I could see guys and girls with blue and yellow face paint and everyone decked out in our school colors. The opposite side of the stadium looked the same but was red and green.

I looked down at the cheerleaders and saw Jenny. Rose and I smiled and waved as she warmed up with the team but Rose's smile faltered when she saw Lauren. I could see Lauren screaming at the squad. I don't know how Jenny does it.

Then the stadium lights flickered and people started cheering louder. I could hear the booming voice of the announcer over the speakers and the huge LCD screen light up.

"Welcome to the Ridge Crest Prep Lions vs. West Marine Prep Cardinals first football game of the season!"

More cheers and loud screaming. I would definitely have to get used to this. I could barely hear because of all the screams.

There was some music playing in the background as the announcer introduced the rival team's line-up first with the rest of the team and the coaches as they all came running out onto the field to the cheers from their school.

Then I heard Supermassive Black Hole by Muse playing over the field as everyone on our side of the stadium stood up screaming at the top of their lungs. I looked at Jasper with my eyes wide and he had a similar expression. We had never experienced this before. Rose laughed at the sight of the two of us.

Just then, the announcer started announcing our team line-up.

I saw Scott, Steve, Mark, Brian, and Jack and a few others come running out onto the field with loud cheers and screams coming from the crowd.

Then he announced Edward's name and I swear all time stopped when he came running out. If I thought he looked good the day at tryouts in his uniform, he looked even better today. How is that even possible?

I could hear the massive screams and a group of girls with letters on their shirts spelling out CULLEN jumping up and down. It was mass hysteria, especially when they zoomed in on his face on the giant TV screen.

I saw him look over to where we were sitting and he smiled. I didn't know if it was directed to me but I smiled back anyways like a big idiot. Oh well, I didn't know if that was real or not or if he was even looking at me but who cares. I was just jumping up and down inside at his smile.

Then they called Emmett's name and more loud screams rang across the stadium. I saw another group of girls spelling out SWAN jumping up and down.

Oh Good God! This was nuts!

Emmett came running out waving and smiling at the crowd but then pointing at Rose and blowing her a kiss. Everyone "ooh-ed" and "ahh-ed" when they saw that.

The rest of the team came running out which was Mike and Tyler and their group of friends. I guess they weren't that good to play and had to be benched. Then I saw three coaches come out as well. One of them I recognized as being the one that was there during the football incident.

I saw the teams huddle up and I saw Emmett's face get serious. I've never seen my brother like this before and I felt so proud. I never knew how important football was to him until now. I could see it in his eyes and face. I felt bad that I never went to any of his games but I was glad that I came to this one. I was definitely going to help him as much as I could so that he could live his dream.

They broke from their huddle after doing a team shout out and threw on their helmets. Then they took their positions on the field.

The whistle blew and things went into motion. I had no idea what was going on and I'm sure the look of confusion on my face didn't help either. Rose tried explaining it to me but was too caught up in watching what we going on. I did cheer whenever I saw people cheer and I booed when people booed but that was it. I still had no idea what was happening. Two quarters were done and it was already halftime. The score was 14-0 and we were leading.

Jasper went to get some popcorn and soda for us since we promised Jenny that we would watch the cheerleaders perform during the halftime show.

I had to admit that our cheerleaders were pretty amazing except for Lauren who didn't really do much but stand on the side. The rest of the team looked like a professional cheerleading squad. They did all sorts of flips and stunts.

Once they were done we cheered for Jenny and she smiled at us and waved. Jasper came back with our food and drinks and he had this dreamlike look on his face.

_Hey, that only happened to me. What was going on?_

"What happened, Jazz?" Rose asked.

"Huh, what you are talking about?" he said sheepishly.

"Don't lie to me. You're just as bad at lying as Bella. I see the daze on your face. What happened?"

"I just met someone," he said as he blushed.

Not just someone from the blush that I saw on his cheeks. It had to be a special someone.

"Who did you meet?" Rose asked.

Jasper paused. I knew he didn't want to talk about it anymore because Rose was here. He was always a very private person and he never shared anything personal with Rose and Emmett like he did with me.

From the look he had on his face it had to be Alice Cullen. I was sure of it. I got him to finally admit his crush on Alice to me yesterday at dinner even though I knew he was hooked since the day we went to the movies.

I had to help him throw the attention off him. He always helped me so I owed it to him.

_Quick! Think of something!_

I nudged Rose on the side and pointed to the field. "ROSE! Look! Over there! Lauren is talking to Emmett!"

"WHAT THE HEL–" She yelled as shot up from her seat and scanned the field for Emmett and Lauren.

Jasper gave me a grateful look.

I tugged on Rose's arm getting her to sit back down. "Oh, I'm sorry Rose. I thought she was talking to Emmett. It's just Mike Newton. I think I was daydreaming again. Sorry Rose!"

_Please buy the lie, please buy the lie._

She looked at me and smacked the back of my head.

"Ow!" I yelled.

"You really need to stop with those damn dreams!" she hissed under her breath.

I rubbed the back of my head and glared at Jasper giving him a you-owe-me-big-time look. He nodded and shrunk back in his seat.

Before Rose could even remember what she was asking Jasper, the game started again. Jasper and I relaxed back into our seats glad that Rose was pre-occupied.

The last two quarters came and went and we ended up winning 21-7. We were standing outside the locker room waiting for Emmett to come out. I could see a throng of people waiting outside for other players as well as all the fan clubs.

The door flung open and some of the guys came out, looking clean and showered. I could only imagine what it smells like in that locker room.

We waved to Brian and Mark as they stepped out first. Then Scott, Steve, and Jack came out smiling at everyone.

Edward came out next and was practically mobbed by his fan club. I could barely even see him through the crowd. I started laughing but froze when I caught his gaze and he gave me a smirk. I shook my head continuing to laugh.

Then Emmett came out tackled by a mob as well. It wasn't as big as Edward's but he finally got through the crowd and to us. Rose jumped into his arms as they kissed. They finally broke their embrace and I ran up to Emmett and congratulated him. I told him that I was proud of him and I could almost see tears in his eyes. We agreed that I would start tutoring him this weekend. Jasper congratulated him as well and gave him a pat on the back.

"Are you going to go celebrate our win with us at TGI Fridays?" Emmett asked Jasper and I.

I wasn't too big on huge parties or crowds. Plus, I wanted to find out from Jasper what happened earlier with Alice and I was getting tired from all the football madness. I was sure that Jasper sensed my anxiousness too and didn't respond.

"I'm really tired, Em. And we have to work at the bookstore tomorrow, are you okay with going back to the dorms, Jazz?" I knew I didn't need to ask Jasper but I wanted to be sure that he was okay on passing on TGI Fridays.

"I'm pretty beat too. We'll see you two tomorrow," he said to Rose and Emmett.

We hugged them before we left and tried to say bye to whoever we saw that was still around us. I noticed that Edward was busy talking to a few people so I didn't want to bother him.

As soon as we left the crowd, Jasper threw his arm around my shoulder as I threw my arm around the back of his waist. He gave me a kiss on my cheek.

"Thanks for saving me back there, little sis!"

"You owe me big time! Rose hits hard!"

"Sorry about that!"

"S'okay, you've saved me a bunch of times, it's only fair that I returned the favor. Now, tell me what happened with Alice!" I squealed as we headed back to the dorms.

**

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**

I woke up the next morning getting ready to go to work with Jasper at the bookstore. He told me last night about how he met Alice and that she was Edward's sister. She went to international school in Paris and decided to move here to be with her family for her last year before going off to college. He also mentioned that she loved being the head of the costume department and was hoping it would give her a better chance to go to the top fashion school in the US. He was completely smitten by her but I knew he was shy and that they didn't exchange any contact information. I was assuring him that we would bump into her again and that he would have his chance.

As I sat at the counter at the bookstore manning the register, I noticed that there weren't that many customers. I took out _Pride and Prejudice_ and began reading it.

"Bella?" I know that voice. I looked up to see the gorgeous guy standing in front of me smiling.

"Hey, Edward," I said dreamily and smiled back at him. If this is a dream, it's definitely a great dream. My insides were turning to goo just from his smile and gaze.

We stood there grinning at each other like idiots until I heard some people clearing their throats bringing us back to reality.

"So … um … did you need any help with anything?" I asked him.

"Oh, um, yeah. Here I wanted to buy these."

He looked around the counter and grabbed a few random things. I started scanning the items that he placed on the counter.

Pens

School Keychain

Pink Bookmark (_Pink?! Hmmm …_)

_Confessions of a Shopaholic_ (_WHAT?! Maybe he's gay …_)

I looked up at him and he eyes looked glazed over and he looked … dazed? I thought that only happened to me.

He shook his head bringing himself out of his thoughts. He saw my expression and looked down at the book that I was scanning. His eyes went wide.

"That's an um … interesting choice," I said as I smiled at him.

"Oh … um … I just picked that up for my sister. It's … it's a gift."

I saw him blushing. Edward Cullen blushing?! Then he ran his hand through his hair. He was definitely fidgeting.

Was he gay? Oh God! No one has ever seen him with a girl before. And he was so nice to me on Thursday. And he dresses good. And he looks good. EEKK!

That could be an explanation to everything. Hmmm … I should just go with the flow.

"It's okay, I can keep a secret." I whispered to him and winked.

I saw his face turn bright red and he looked completely shocked.

"Oh, NO! Um … no, that is not for me," he said firmly.

I looked at him to see if he was telling the truth. It was pretty funny to see his reaction. Maybe I should tease him a bit. I think Rose is rubbing off on me.

"Sure, right?" I said with a smirk.

"NO! Seriously, I am not gay. I randomly picked up the things and figured it's something my sister would like," he hissed under his breath.

"Okay, I believe you," I said with a teasing smile.

He realized that I was teasing him and scowled at me but it was quickly replaced with a smile.

"Good game, yesterday!" I said trying to make our time together longer.

I am so lame. He's in the freaking bookstore trying to buy something and here I was thinking I could turn this into an hour-long conversation.

"Yeah, you looked confused during the game. Did you start to understand some of it?"

WHAT?! He saw me during the game?! Me?!

Yeah, right! Like that would happen …

I shook my head no. "I'm hopeless!"

"Well, I can explain it to you next time, if you want?" he offered.

I smiled back at him. "That … That would be great!"

"GOD, can you stop trying to flirt with her already and get the hell out of the line?" I heard some guy yell at the back of the line.

I knew I blushed red from that comment. I handed the bag to Edward as he gave me an apologetic smile and said, "Bye, Bella, see you Monday!"

"Bye, Edward!"

I watched as he walked out of the bookstore. I sighed. Was that a dream? I was startled when the next person in line slammed their items on the counter trying to get my attention making my smile turn into a frown.

_Thanks for bringing me off my Edward high! Idiot!_

**

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**

It was Monday morning. Rose came back last night and Jasper went back to his room. We spent most of the weekend studying together and playing video games on his Xbox.

As I flung myself out of the bed, I went to grab the school paper. I opened it up to look for Tanya's column. I know I always say things about it but it's my guilty pleasure. Everyone has one!

_What are the headlines this week?_

There was stuff about the football game, Lauren Mallory (yuck!), Alice Cullen (telling everyone that she was Edward's sister), and some other people that I didn't know but recognized.

BUT that's when I saw it.

I gasped loudly, waking Rose up as the paper fell out of my hand and to the floor.

"Bells, what is it?" Rose said as she got up and looked at the newspaper that was now scattered on the floor.

There in the newspaper were pictures of me and Jasper and a headline that read:

_**Still Going Strong after Three Years and Going on their Fourth!**_ – _Jasper Hale and Bella Swan cute couple still together after all this time. Are they vying for Cutest Couple of the Year?_

**WHAT?!**

Then my phone started ringing. I knew exactly who it was.

"Jazz, I just saw it, OH MY GOD!" I said.

"I know, Bells! This is crazy!"

He sounded just as upset as I was and I could hear Emmett howling with laughter in the background.

"We are going to take care of this. I'm marching right over to Tanya and Angela and giving them a piece of my mind!" I yelled.

"I'm going with you. I'll see you later," he huffed as he hung up.

I looked over at Rose who was just as shocked as I was but then she started doubling over in laughter.

"Rose, this is not funny!" I yelled.

"It-It is s-so f-freaking h-hilarious!" she said she had tears coming down her eyes.

I was furious! I looked more at the pictures and there were pictures of this weekend printed in the paper. There was one of us after the game walking back to our dorms and someone took it right when he kissed my cheek. How the hell do people do that? And then there were pictures of him coming in and out of my dorm with his bag indicating that he spent the night.

There were even pictures of us from freshman to junior year documenting a timeline. Good GOD! If people didn't know that we were best friends, they would definitely think something from these pictures.

This is so embarrassing! We had to fix this and soon.

The rest of the day flew by and all I could think about was getting to the newspaper office for 6th period to lash out my anger. I barely spoke to anyone all day and I was sure they knew I was pissed off about something. I could tell that Edward was in a bad mood today too so I didn't bother trying to talk to him in any of our classes. I was too consumed in my own anger.

Once 6th period finally came, I stormed into the newspaper office and saw Jasper waiting for me. We went over to Angela's office and banged on the door.

"Come in!" she yelled.

We pushed the door open and I saw her sitting at her desk focused on the computer. She pushed her glasses up her nose and looked at us. We shot daggers at her as we stood in the doorway with both of our arms crossed against our chests.

"What? What happened?" she asked.

"What happened? What happened? Tanya's column happened. How you could print that about us, Angela?!" I screamed.

"Is it not true?" she asked and raised her eyebrows.

"Of course it's not true! We are best friends, we've never dated ever!" Jasper yelled.

I could see Angela cower back in her seat.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! I just thought that you two were a couple all this time. But you were a couple freshman year right?" she asked completely confused.

"That was just a decoy, we did that so that we didn't have to worry about Mike Newton and Jessica Stanley but it was never real!" I yelled.

"Okay, let me call Tanya in here and we'll get this straightened out." She said as she went to grab Tanya and pulled her into the office shutting the door.

"Tanya apparently you printed some incorrect information in your article and it needs to be retracted in the next issue," Angela told her.

"You know that I'm never wrong," she said confidently.

She looked at us and then said, "Fine, what's the problem?"

"Jasper and Bella are not a couple and never have been," Angela said.

Tanya looked at us as her mouth dropped open. She looked shocked.

Why was this shocking? Did everyone truly think we were a couple all this time?

"That can't be true. I know that you two are together. I have my sources!" she yelled.

"Damn incorrect sources!" Jasper snapped.

"Who said that about us?! WHO?!" I yelled.

"I don't reveal my sources to anyone," she said.

"Fine, but we are not together, we are best friends. We see other as brother and sister! I can't believe you wrote that about us!" I seethed through my teeth. Jasper placed his hand on my shoulder trying to calm me down.

After a few more minutes of arguing, we finally got Tanya to agree to print a retraction in the next issue.

I was still pissed because whatever source she had was definitely wrong and I was going to find out who it was. I was relieved that things would get cleared up but that was still a week away. Ugh!

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**A/N: Hope you liked this. I really liked writing the bookstore scene. Hopefully you thought it was funny. I won't be going into detail about the football games since I really don't know anything about football. Hopefully the scoring is correct. **

**I'm sure you already saw it coming that everyone thought Jasper and Bella were a couple but I wanted to make it so that they were the last ones to know and found out through Tanya's column. There will be more stuff coming up!! **

**Oh and Angela isn't that close friends with the group so it is OOC but had to make it like that for her to approve printing the column about Jasper and Bella as a couple. **

**The next chapter is my longest yet! I will post it up soon! **

**Please review!  
**


	12. I Want You to Want Me

**A/N: Thanks again for adding this to your alerts! I hope you are enjoying this story. Now, what's going to happen now that everyone thinks that Jasper and Bella are a couple? Read on below to find out! And this is my longest chapter. It was almost two chapters but I figured it would be best to include it all into one for you! Enjoy!**

**Thanks again to my beta, Jess - Loves forever!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Twilight or Ally McBeal. I do own the storyline and any characters that I make up.**

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**Chapter 12 – I Want You to Want Me**

Song – I Want You to Want Me by Letters to Cleo

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The rest of the week went by and Jasper and I had to keep telling everyone that we weren't a couple. Of course no one believed us.

Why is Tanya's column more reputable than the source itself? I have no idea. We'll just have to wait until Monday for things to clear up.

I noticed that Edward was acting a little distant to me this week but it was probably because we couldn't talk in class. Our teachers were lecturing like crazy. I remembered that he seemed really mad on Monday but I was so consumed in my own anger that day that I didn't ask him about it. I couldn't help but think if he was mad at me about what happened at the bookstore. I hope that I didn't offend him or anything.

Our study session at the library was today and we agreed to meet in the same study room that we worked in last time.

I got there early and put my bag down. I threw on my earbuds and started to listen to the last song that was playing.

_I want you to want me_

_I need you to need me_

_I'd love you to love me_

_I'm begging you to beg me_

I was shaking my head and drumming my pen against my notebook to the music. I felt a tap on my shoulder but didn't think it was anything.

Then I felt someone tug on my earbud popping it out as the rest of the song blared out into the room.

I jumped.

_I want you to want me_

_I need you to need me_

_I'd love you to love me_

_(I Want You to Want Me - Letters to Cleo)_

I looked up to see who it was. It was Edward. He didn't give me a smile and looked sad.

"Hey, sorry about that!" I said while I stopped my iPhone and shoved it into my bag.

"No, it's okay. I tapped your shoulder and called out your name but figured you couldn't hear me. Sorry if I scared you," he said solemnly while taking the seat next to me.

We went straight to work and didn't talk. I would glance over at him from time to time and he looked upset or frustrated. I knew that something was bothering him but I didn't want to say anything. When we were close to being finished, I decided to suck it up and ask. The silence was really starting to bother me.

"Edward?" I said while turning to look at him. He kept his eyes focused on the books and papers on the desk.

"Yes?" he said.

"Um, is something bothering you?" I asked.

"No, why do you say that?" he said still looking at the papers like he wanted to avoid me. I could tell that he was lying.

"Are you sure? You can tell me," I said sincerely.

Just as I finished asking him that question, Jasper came into the room. We were going to meet after I was done with my biology project with Edward. I needed Jasper to help me with my Calculus homework.

I saw Edward look up as Jasper walked over to our table. I thought I saw his jaw tighten but I could just be imagining things as always.

"Hey, Jazz!" I said.

"Hey, Bells!" he said.

"Jazz, this is Edward. Edward, this is Jasper," I said introducing them.

They nodded heads to each other acknowledging each other's presence.

"Jazz, we're almost finished, could you wait a litt–" I said but was cut off by Edward.

"Actually, we're done," he said as he started gathering his things.

"We are?" I was confused.

"Yeah, I finished up this part so we can work on the rest next time," he said quickly shoving the rest of his things into this bag.

"Um, okay. I'll see you in class tomorrow then. I hope you feel better," I said as he walked quickly toward the door.

"Bye," he muttered under his breath as he sprinted out of the room.

As I heard him walk away, Jasper turned to me and whispered, "What was that about?"

"I have no idea," I sighed.

_What did I do wrong?_

**

* * *

**

The rest of the week and weekend flew by. The tutor sessions with Emmett were going well. They had an away game this past weekend and I couldn't make it because I had to work. I also didn't feel like going because of what happened at the library with Edward. I couldn't help but think that it was my fault he was so upset and I started to feel bad.

What if he is really gay and he probably thought that I offended him? Good going, Bells!

It was Monday morning now and the third week of school. I got up and did my daily Monday routine with grabbing the newspaper. I opened it to Tanya's column and thankfully saw the retraction story.

_**Jasper Hale and Bella Swan Best Friends, Who Knew?**_– _As we reported last week that Bella Swan and Jasper Hale were a couple, that was incorrect information and we would like to clear this up. _

The story went on explaining that we were best friends and have been since we were kids and that we only liked each other as brother and sister. As soon as I saw that I felt a wave of relief go through me. Thank God! Now people will believe it and stop saying that we were lying.

I showered and threw on a black pleated skirt with a tight long-sleeved blouse. I loosely tied the black bow tie around the collar and grabbed a black cardigan. I curled my hair at the ends and left it down and threw on my black ballet flats.

Rose got up and got dressed as well after taking a quick peek at the column. I didn't tell Rose about what happened last week with Edward and the distance. I just didn't want to talk about it and what if he was gay? I didn't want to out him to Rose.

We grabbed our bags and headed out the door. As we started walking to class, I noticed that a lot of boys were staring at us. More than the usual amount. I could swear that I thought some were following us and thought it was strange.

There were some that came up to us to say hi and I thought it was weird that we were getting so much attention and that boys were being so friendly.

I looked to see what Rose was wearing.

_Did she forget to put on clothes this morning?! What is going on?  
_

There she was standing there in her lacy black bra and underwear for all the world to see. The wind was blowing her hair and she was loving the attention. My eyes bulged out of my head as I gaped at her.

She gave me a hard look and then I felt a pinch on my arm.

"OW!" I yelled bringing me out of my daze.

I looked at her again and realized that she was wearing her uniform.

_Oh thank GOD! I was only dreaming._

She was wearing a short blue tennis skirt with a short-sleeved white blouse that was tight around the boobage area but nothing too off from what she normally wore. This is weird.

"What are you dreaming about?" she whispered to me.

"I was wondering why there were so many guys staring at us. I thought you were only wearing your bra and underwear! What is going on? Are you seeing all of this or am I dreaming again?"

"You're not dreaming. That's for sure. It's because of Tanya's column!" she said smiling.

"Why would Tanya's column attract all of this? It just reported that Jasper and I are only friends and no–" I was cut off by screaming girls.

Lots of screaming girls.

I saw Jasper running towards us yelling at us, "HELP ME!" as he sprinted past us with a bunch of girls screaming and running after him.

Then it clicked.

"OH. MY. GOD!" I said as I saw Jasper running for his life.

Everyone at school thought we were a couple all these years so they never bothered us and left us alone. As soon as the article mentioned that we were just friends and that we were single, all hell broke loose.

I thought things would get better but this just went from bad to worse. I looked at Rose as she smirked at me happy that I finally put it all together.

"ROSE! What are we going to do?" I said cringing. This was not good. Not only would this cause more attention but it would mean that I would have to deal with annoying boys!

She laughed. "Enjoy it, silly!" She shouted as she walked away.

Just as she walked away I saw a group of guys coming toward me looking ready to pounce. I looked down at the floor rushing to my first class trying to avoid the gazes. This is going to be a long day.

**

* * *

**

It was time for my third period English class. I sprinted to class trying to avoid guys from coming up and talking to me. I already got asked out on ten dates and refused each one. And I got asked to Homecoming five times and refused because I was already going with Jasper but this is crazy.

I ran into English panting and breathing heavily. I walked to my seat and threw down my things. I didn't even notice that Edward was already sitting there. He chuckled as he saw my appearance.

"Looks like someone is having a good day," he joked.

"Just great!" My voice dripping with sarcasm as I slid into my seat.

He laughed. "It's not funny!" I yelled.

He just laughed even more. I crossed my arms over my chest and rolled my eyes at him as I turned to face the front of the room.

"Okay, okay. I'll stop laughing now," he said.

I ignored him. "Bella, Bella," he called but I still ignored him.

"Bella, are you mad at me?" he whispered into my ear sending shivers down my spine. I pretended that it didn't affect me but it took a lot of effort to do that.

"Hhmpf," I miffed while trying to hide my smile still not turning around to face him.

He chuckled again as the teacher came in starting class. Class flew by and as the bell rang, I grabbed my things and started heading out toward the door to the gym. I had to get out quickly to avoid more guys coming up to me.

"Bella, are you really mad?" Edward asked with concern as he grabbed my arm stopping me from walking toward the gym. We were standing in the middle of the hallway and everyone was staring at us.

I turned my head to look up at him and smiled. "No, but it was fun to see your face just now!"

I laughed. He let go of my arm and sighed with relief. "I really thought you were mad at me," he said softly.

"No, I'm not mad. I'm just surprised that you're talking to me again," I said and shrugged my shoulders looking down at the floor.

"Oh, yeah, that … I was …" he paused while running a hand through his hair.

_What was he so nervous about?  
_

I decided to cut him off and speak first. "Listen, if you were mad at me about what happened at the bookstore and comments that I made to you about buying the _Confessions of a Shopaholic_ book, I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to offend you. I was just joking around and if you really are gay then that's fine. There is nothing wrong with that. I won't treat you any differently," I said quickly but quietly hoping that no one would hear.

He looked at me in shock again. I'm starting to get used to recognizing this look on his face.

"Th-that wasn't the reason why I was upset last week. I was upset because of something else that was bothering me but I'm okay now." He said.

"Are you sure?" I asked narrowing my eyes at him trying to make sure he was telling me the truth.

"Yes, I'm sorry for being rude last week," he said sincerely. I looked into his eyes and saw that there was guilt and anguish there. I could tell that he really did feel bad for the awkwardness last week.

"Apology accepted, Mr. Mood Swings," I said as I smiled at him as he returned with a bigger smile that made my heart stop.

"Okay, well I have to get to the gym before anyone stops me. I'll see you in Biology," I said just as I was about to sprint away.

He pulled my arm pressing my body against his chest as he leaned down and whispered into my ear. "I'm not gay and I wasn't mad at you."

I could feel the warmth radiating from our bodies. I felt the shivers go down my spine as his lips brushed my ear. I could smell his natural scent, which was intoxicating. This was better than any dream that I have ever had and I had to remind myself that this was real and not a dream. I couldn't get carried away.

I pulled away quickly. I didn't want anyone to see me breathing in his scent with my eyes closed. If they took a picture of me like that and put it in the school paper, my life would be over!

"Um, okay," I squeaked as I headed out toward the gym. I was sure my face was purple.

I heard him chuckle to himself. "See you in Biology, Bella!"

**

* * *

**

Gym went by quickly and we learned more flips. We learned some back to back flips and the Around the World aerial **(A/N: Link to description of dance moves in my profile)**. Gym was starting to get harder and harder with the new dance moves we were learning.

As we headed to the food court, we sat down at our table after grabbing some food. Then a swarm of guys and girls came up to the table trying to talk to Jasper and I. This was nuts. Emmett had to scare away the guys while Rose glared at all the girls. After five minutes, they all left and it was just the four of us.

Jasper and I complained about all the craziness that had happened earlier in the day while Emmett and Rose laughed at us. I could see that Emmett was upset but he tried to hide it. I don't think he particularly enjoyed that his sister was now the prime target for more than half the boys at school.

Just as we stopped laughing, I felt someone sit down next to me placing their tray on the table. I was about to dismiss them thinking it was some crazy obsessed boy but then looked over to see Edward. He was smiling at me and I smiled back.

"Hi," I said shyly as I looked back at my lunch bag and rummaged through it for food.

"Hey," he said.

I looked over to Rose who had the biggest smile on her face. Jasper was giving me a smirk as Emmett did a manly handshake with Edward.

Then I heard a pixie like chirp. "Hey, Edward, can I sit with you guys?"

I looked up to see Alice standing there with her food. I smiled at her and she smiled back. Edward motioned for her to sit down and she grabbed a chair next to Jasper. I could see Jasper blush. I smiled at him to give him some encouragement.

"Alice, this is Rose, Emmett, Bella and Jasper. Guys, this is my sister, Alice," Edward said as he pointed to us.

She smiled at all of us. I went back to eating my food. I saw that Alice and Jasper started chatting away and saw Rose and Emmett in a deep talk as well.

"So Bella, you write the music and book review column for the _Ridge Crest Times_, right?" Edward asked.

"Yeah, I'm surprised you know that," I said.

"Why? I think it's a great column. I read it every Monday," he stated. I turned bright red.

Edward Cullen read my column. He said it was great! And he reads it every Monday!!

_YAYYYYYY! _

I was doing a victory dance in my head.

"Well, I didn't think anyone read the rest of the paper except for Tanya's column," I answered.

"I think there are a lot of people who read your column but I can see why Tanya's column seems to hold more interest at this school." He sounded annoyed.

"You don't like Tanya's column? Even I admit that it's my guilty pleasure," I said and laughed.

He laughed. "Well, I didn't say that I don't read it but I just don't see why gossip is such a big deal here," he answered.

"I agree, I don't know why it's such a big deal but it's high school so I guess it's the norm. But don't you like how you're always mentioned?" I asked teasingly. I was actually really curious to find out his reaction.

"No! I hate it. I don't like attention," he muttered.

I nearly choked on my food as Edward patted my back. Edward Cullen the king of Ridge Crest Prep saying that he doesn't like attention?! What the?

"Are you okay?" he asked with concern.

"I'm fine." I wheezed. "I was just surprised that's all."

"Surprised? Did you really think that I enjoy being in the spotlight?" he asked.

"Well, you are captain of the basketball team, quarterback of the football team, ASB President and the list goes on and on. I mean you're perfect and the most popular guy in school. How could anyone not think that you don't like attention?" I answered.

His eyes widened. What? What did I say? Did I offend him? Knowing me and my craziness I probably did. Then he said something that completely surprised me.

"You think I'm perfect?"

_SHIT! Did I really say that?!_

Play it cool … don't let him know that it was a big deal.

"Um, yeah, I mean is there anything that you can't do? You seem like you are good at everything," I said.

"You have no idea," he murmured under his breath.

We started talking with the entire group now and Alice seemed like she would be a great new friend. She was perky and energetic and extremely hyper.

Rose and I exchanged contact information with her and decided we would go shopping together after classes on Wednesday.

Judging from her eager reaction and Edward's nervous face, I wasn't sure if I should be excited or scared.

**

* * *

**

The next day I got up and got dressed in my uniform. I threw on a blue skirt and light blue ruffled blouse with a black tie and black blazer. Rose wore a black skirt and light yellow blouse with a maroon tie.

As we headed out of our dorm, I saw Jack Taylor leaning up against the light post next to our dorm building. He looked like he was waiting for someone. As we got closer to him, he waved and walked over to us.

"Hey Bella, Rose," he said as he walked next to me.

"Hey Jack," Rose and I answered in unison.

"So were you waiting for someone?" I asked.

"Yeah, I was hoping if I could walk you to class today," he said as he gave me a smile.

I looked at Rose who had a smirk on her face. This is awkward. I've never had a guy ask to walk me to class before. I didn't know what to do but Rose was giving me the hurry-up-and-do-something look.

I looked back at him giving him a soft smile and said, "Sure."

After Rose left to go toward her classroom, I could feel the stares hitting us but this time most of the guys backed off and stopped approaching me. Thank GOD for that!

"How are you doing?" Jack asked as we headed off to our AP Econ class.

"I'm good, how about you?" I said.

The conversation flowed from then on as we headed into class.

After Econ class, I saw that he waited for me and walked me to my second period as well. That was odd. I didn't say anything and just kept with the conversation.

I walked into Calc class and saw that Jasper was already there. He gave me a look as he saw who walked me to class. I waved bye to Jack as he left and sat down in my seat.

I could sense that something was bugging Jasper but I couldn't get a chance to ask him about it. As Calc ended, I walked outside and froze as I saw Edward standing there leaning up against the wall. He looked like he was waiting for someone and he smiled when he saw me. He started walking over to my direction.

_Was he waiting for me? Yeah, right! Dream on Bella! _

I was completely dazed that I had no idea Jasper was trying to talk to me. I snapped out of it and said, "I'm sorry, what were you saying Jasper?"

He looked at me and then to Edward and realized that I didn't hear a word he was saying.

"Nothing, Bells, I'll talk to you in gym." He huffed as he said bye and left.

"Hey Bella," Edward said as he approached my side.

_He was waiting for me?! Oh My God!!_

"Hi." I squeaked and cleared my throat. "Oh, um, what are you doing here?"

"I came to walk you to English class, is that okay?"

_REALLY?! _

I was jumping up and down in my head but kept myself cool and composed.

"Yeah, fine," I replied as I started heading toward class.

This is weird. Jack and Edward walking me to class today. I started thinking and then something clicked.

I turned to look at Edward trying to see if I could find something in his face that would tip him off but I couldn't find anything. Then I stopped walking and he stopped walking as well.

"Edward, why are you walking me to class?" I asked.

"I just finished my AP Calc class and it was in the same building so I figured I'd wait for you and walk with you to English," he said and shrugged his shoulders.

"But how did you know I had AP Calc class for this period and in that room?" I asked.

He didn't look at me and I knew he was hiding something.

I placed my hands on my hips. "What is it? You have to tell me!" I yelled.

He winced at my yelling and then looked at me pleading. "I promised I wouldn't say anything so let's get going to English class."

"NO!" I yelled again causing a scene. He had better tell me what the hell was going on! "I'm not going to English class until you tell me what is going on. First, Jack and now you …"

And then it dawned on me. EMMETT!!

"What did my brother tell you to do?!" I yelled.

Edward looked around seeing the crowd that was forming and grabbed my arm leading me toward English. He was stronger than me so I couldn't put my foot down but he stopped before we got to the classroom and lowered his voice. "He'll kill me if I tell you so could you please stop making a scene."

I sulked. I have to find out what Emmett did. Now was a good time to unleash my learnings from Rose. I knew I could do it since I was mad. When I'm mad, I can do anything to get what I want.

Apparently, Rose had a 'strategy' on how to get what you want from guys. She swears that it works every time and works all the time with my brother. I didn't want to think about that now. Yuck!

I decided to go in for the kill so hopefully Edward won't think that I'm some sort of bimbo like Lauren.

"_Step one, always get close to the target. Touching is a good thing."_

Rose's voice ringing in my head as I recalled her 'training' session with me when we were discussing Operation Damage Control awhile back.

I walked up closer to him as close as I could get to his body where I could smell his sweet scent and feel the warmth radiating from his body. I couldn't place my finger on the scent. It smelled more like his natural scent than cologne. It was mesmerizing. I had to keep focused. I could feel him freeze and tense up.

"_Step two, always look up from under your eyelashes. It's sexy." _

I looked up at him from under my eyelashes and said, "Please, Edward."

"_Step three, always pout. Guys love it." _

I rolled my eyes at her when she told me that. It just sounded so stupid and I hoped I didn't look ridiculous doing it.

But I knew I had to in order to find out what Emmett did. I was determined.

I pouted out my bottom lip.

I could tell that I had some sort of affect on him because he looked completely … dazed?

**SCORE! **

WOW, I was able to do this to him! I should learn from Rose a little more. He was like putty in my hands.

Then he said softly, "Fine, but you didn't hear it from me." He looked around making sure that no one heard us.

"Emmett was upset that all of the guys were hitting on you once they found out that you and Jasper weren't a couple so he told the football team that you had to be watched at all times and that you could never be alone. So he gave us your class schedule and made sure that you had an escort at all times."

"He did WHAT?!" I shouted.

Edward placed his hand over my mouth to keep me from shouting and all I could feel was the warmth of his hand on my lips and the tingle of electricity flow through it.

I stopped talking and he said, "Will you promise to stop shouting?"

I nodded my head yes as he removed his hand.

"I can't believe he did this!" I hissed.

Just then the bell rang and he grabbed my arm pulling me into class. I couldn't think straight. I was so angry with Emmett for doing that and then I realized that Edward only walked me to class because Emmett told him to. He was only doing what my oaf of a big brother probably forced him to do and I frowned. It would've been nice if Edward had wanted to walk me to class but I knew that was never going to happen.

All I could see now was red. All I could think about was that Emmett was dead meat when class was over. I was going to hunt him down and kill him.

When the bell rang, I literally jumped out of my seat, grabbed my bag and raced out the door. I could feel someone running behind me.

"Bella, wait!" I heard Edward yell.

I stopped as he came closer to me. "Emmett is so DEAD!"

"Calm down! He was only trying to protect you."

"I don't need his protection or the rest of the football team for that matter! I can protect myself!" I screeched as I started stalking off to the gym again.

"And you don't have to walk me to gym, Edward! I know you're only doing it because my stupid idiotic brother told you to but I can go by myself!" I yelled as I was lashing out my anger but I knew that it wasn't right to yell at him.

I stopped and turned toward him realizing that my anger was getting the best of me. I took a few deep breaths and closed my eyes.

"I'm sorry that I yelled at you," as I softened my voice and opened my eyes to look at him. "I'm just mad at Emmett and I shouldn't take it out on you."

"No, it's okay. Are you okay now?" he asked with concern.

"I'm fine," I said.

We started walking again toward the gym when he said, "Can I tell you a few things?"

"Sure, go ahead," I said.

"First of all, you are scary when you're mad." He smiled as I laughed.

"Second, there is no doubt in my mind that you are Emmett's sister." I laughed again.

"Third, I wanted to walk you to class not because Emmett told me to. It gave me the chance to get your class schedule," he said seriously.

My heart jumped when he said that. He really wanted to walk me to class! Me!

Before I could even respond, we had made it to the gym and I stood there speechless. Stars were forming in my eyes blinding me.

"Bye, Bella." He smiled as he turned and walked away.

I stood there completely stunned. I was so caught up in what happened that I completely forgot that I was mad at Emmett. I brought myself back to earth and walked into the locker room. I found Rose and told her what happened. She agreed that I had a right to be angry with Emmett but was excited about what Edward said to me and that I was able to coax it out of him. She mentioned something about me being a good grasshopper. Whatever that means!

Just as we headed out into the gym, my eyes locked furiously on my brother. I stomped toward him and poked him in the chest.

"What the hell were you thinking?!" I yelled.

"What are you talking about?" Emmett said acting like he had no idea what was going on.

"You know what I'm talking about EMMETT SWAN!" I screamed.

Everyone was staring at us now and Alice, Rose, Mark and Jasper were trying to stop us from making a scene.

I stopped screaming and lowered my voice down an octave. "You did not have to order the football team to watch out for me and walk me to class!"

"H-How did you know?" Emmett stuttered as his face turned white. I saw Mark's eyes widen and Jasper putting a hand on my shoulder trying to calm me down and hold me back from kicking Emmett's ass.

"I have my sources. Now, tell them to stop!" I said firmly crossing my arms against my chest as I glared daggers at my brother.

He cowered back a little and I could see that Mark and Alice were surprised that I could have this affect on him.

"Bells," he whined. "I just want to make sure that no one bothers you. I don't like having to worry about my lil sis and all these guys coming up to you."

"Well, it's not your problem. It's mine and I can handle it. So tell them to back off!" I said raising my voice.

"Fine! I'll tell them not to walk you to class but that doesn't mean that I'll have them stop watching you. They have to be my lookouts when I'm not there. What if something happens to you?" he pleaded.

Damn it! Right when I had the upper hand and he had to start pleading.

"Fine!" I said as I threw my arms up in the air.

**

* * *

**

I headed to lunch still upset but at least happy that I wouldn't have someone escorting me to every single class even though deep down I really wanted that someone to be Edward.

At least I knew that he had wanted to walk me to class and it wasn't because of Emmett but I knew I couldn't get my hopes up high. He could pick any girl at school, why would he pick me? I was just normal like everyone else.

As Rose and I sat down at our table, I could see Jack and Edward chatting on the side. Edward didn't look particularly happy and had a scowl on his face. Then I saw Jack walking toward us smiling. He pulled out the chair next to me and sat down.

"Hey, Bella, Rose!" he said. Rose nodded at him and smiled. Emmett and Jasper were still getting their lunches.

"Hey Jack," I said with a smile. "I found out about what Emmett made you do this morning. I'm really sorry about that and you don't have to do it again. I already yelled at him for it last period so he'll be telling you guys that it's not necessary anymore." I stated quickly to him.

"Oh, don't worry about it, Bella. I wanted to walk you to class," he said with a sincere smile.

Hmm … he wanted to walk me to class too. This was strange.

"So, Bella, I was wondering …" he paused for a bit as I started eating my food.

"Would you go to Homecoming with me?" I started choking on my food as Rose started slamming her fist against my back.

_What is with me and choking?!_

Once I regained myself, I said, "Oh, I'm sorry Jack but I'm already going with Jasper."

I jumped up and down inside happy that I had an excuse that I couldn't go with him. I was sure there were plenty of girls that would die to go with him but for me it would be really awkward and uncomfortable. We were just starting to be friends and I wasn't fully comfortable to spend a whole night at a dance with him.

He frowned and his face fell and I started to feel bad. "Oh, I thought you two weren't a couple?" he asked.

"We aren't but we already agreed to go to Homecoming together."

"Oh, well, then … would you go out to dinner with me on Saturday?" he asked trying to sound hopeful.

This was a surprise. Jack was nice and all but I only saw him as a friend and that was it. Nothing more. I didn't want him to get the wrong idea.

I was about to say no and make up some excuse that I was busy when Rose spoke first. "She'd love to!"

**WHAT?! **

He got up from the chair looking extremely excited and said, "I'll pick you up at 7pm, Bella!" He flashed me a big smile and walked away. I could've sworn I saw him skipping but pushed that thought away.

As I watched him walk away, I was in complete shock. I saw him go back to where Edward was sitting. Edward didn't look particularly happy and seemed upset.

I turned back to Rose and slapped her arm. "What the hell was that about?!"

She shrugged her shoulders and said, "Come on, Bells! The guy is one of the hottest guys in school and he asked you out on a date, you have to go with him! Live a little! Grandma!"

"But I don't want to go with him. I don't even like him like that. I only think of him as a friend. I don't want him to think anything different!"

"Just go on the damn date! Jeez … It's not like you're going to be marrying the guy! And by the looks of things, Edward looks extremely jealous! That's a good thing by the way. You want the guy that you like to be jealous!"

"He is not jealous! He's probably just upset about something else."

She rolled her eyes at me. "Right, keep telling yourself that!"

Just then, Emmett and Jasper sat down.

"So, did you say yes to Jack about the date?" Emmett said as he wiggled his eyebrows to me.

"How did you know? Did he ask you for permission or something?" I said.

"Well, yes he did and I'm glad he did. He's one of the good guys, Bells and I trust him with you."

Now guys were asking my brother for permission to ask me out on a date. This was just crazy!

"Well, I'm glad that I have your approval," I said sarcastically as I rolled my eyes.

The only one that I wanted him to approve was Edward and it didn't seem as if that was happening any time soon.

* * *

**A/N: Before you start throwing tomatoes because Bella is going on a date with Jack, don't worry! It will all work out in the end. This is an E&B story. I have to throw in some drama and possible options for her with all the new attention right? And of course, it's always nice to see jealous Edward! I promise you the next chapter is all about E&B! I will be updating soon. **

**And I finally brought Alice into the story for those who have been waiting for her appearance. **

**Hope you liked this chapter! I've been trying to portray that Bella is a lot more comfortable around Edward now and not as nervous as before. What do you think? **

**Please review! Thanks for reading! **


	13. Hanging by a Moment

**A/N: Thanks to everyone for all the reviews and alerts!! I'm glad you're not mad about Jack and Bella going on a date but I'm sure you'll be happy with what I have below! Read on!  
**

**I've been having some trouble with sending and receiving files with my beta. So I posted this chapter that doesn't have her changes yet. I will revise once I get the revised file from her. Thanks again Jess - Loves forever! Sorry for all the trouble with the file swapping.  
**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Twilight or Ally McBeal. I do own the storyline and any characters that I make up.**

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**Chapter 13 – Hanging by a Moment**

Song – Hanging by a Moment by Lifehouse

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It was Wednesday and we were supposed to meet up with Alice after class to go to the mall.

She told us to meet her at the costume warehouse. I got a text from Rose saying that she was running late and would meet us at the mall so I headed over to the drama building to get Alice. I found my way to the large warehouse, which housed all the drama costumes. I walked in and saw the little pixie running around shouting out orders to the large group of students who were frantically sewing.

"The blue fabric goes with this piece," she yelled.

"Over there, get me that green piece. It looks great with this over here," she pointed back and forth.

She saw that I was waiting for her and waved at me to wait for her for a few minutes. She seemed totally at ease and looked like she loved what she was doing. I could see a ton of dresses and suits that were hung up on racks and dresses still being made on mannequins.

As she finished up, she grabbed her purse and came over to me. "Hey Bella!"

"Hi Alice!" I said. "Wow, this looks great! Are you making all the outfits for Homecoming?"

"Making and designing!" she sang.

My mouth literally dropped to the floor. "I can't believe you're designing everything too!"

"I love doing this! And everyone will have custom outfits for Homecoming so no outfit is the same!" I wasn't sure if my mouth dropped open even more when she said this. "So are you ready to go to shopping?!" she squealed.

"Yeah, Rose texted me that she would meet us there."

"Let's go then!" she chirped as she grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the warehouse.

As soon as we stepped foot in the mall, Alice was like a ball of energy on steroids. We met up with Rose and started on our shopping journey. Alice was bouncing from store to store and had to come out with a bag from each store. I wasn't sure if it was an addiction or just that she was crazy.

I had no idea how torturous this could be. I mean I like shopping but I don't love it. I can go for maybe two hours and be fine but not four plus hours. My feet felt like they were about to fall off and Alice wouldn't let me stop and get food!

Rose was happy that she found someone that loved shopping just as much as she did. It turned out that Alice loved being a personal shopper so she loved dressing people.

_That explains why Edward always has such nice clothes. And I thought he was gay, ha! _

Alice came to be very helpful with helping me pick out clothes. She was more reasonable than Rose and chose things that I actually liked versus giving me slutty clothes.

We had so many bags that it was crazy how much stuff we bought. We walked into another store as Rose told Alice about my date with Jack on Saturday night. I rolled my eyes.

"I heard about the big date, Bella! What happened?" Alice asked.

"Alice, I didn't even agree to go with him." I whined. "Rose did the honors for me and now I'm stuck going on a date with someone that I only think of as a friend and that is it. Nothing more."

"Come on, Bella! Just have fun! It's just a date, it's not like you're going to be chained to the guy forever. We'll pick out something nice for you to wear!" Alice sang.

"Fine!" I gave in.

They picked out a strapless black bubble dress for me to wear that Alice said was appropriate for the date. Apparently, Jack had told her where he was taking me.

They both got excited and claimed that they would do my hair and makeup before the date. I was so annoyed that I didn't want to think about it.

I could tell that they weren't even close to stopping from the shopping. I finally was able to beg to let them allow me to sit down on a bench and wait for them while they shopped for Rose.

I heard my cell phone beep and took it out of my purse. There was a new text message.

_From: Edward_

_To: Bella_

_How's the shopping? =) _

I replied back.

_To: Edward_

_From: Bella_

_Thanks for the heads up about Alice and her craziness with shopping! My feet are about to fall off and I'm about to die from hunger all thanks to you! _

I waited a moment and got a response back.

_From: Edward_

_To: Bella_

_Hahaha … you agreed to go with her. I didn't pressure you but I wouldn't want you to die. Did you need me to come rescue you? _

I froze for a second almost forgetting to breathe. If he came to help me, that would mean that it would just be the two of us.

What the heck, I should live a little.

I could see Rose and Alice coming out of the store and frantically tried to finish texting him back before getting dragged into some other crazy store.

_To: Edward_

_From: Bella_

_Please help me! They are coming over to me right now dragging me off to god knows where else. I'm seriously going to pass out if I don't get food in this body! _

I threw my phone back into my purse as they headed over. My stomach growling from hunger. He better hurry his ass over here!

As they pulled me into another store, I felt my phone vibrate. I saw that he was calling now so I pretended to walk around the store looking at clothes. I picked it up ducking underneath a rack of clothes trying to hide from Alice and Rose.

"Edward?" I whispered.

"Why are you whispering?" he laughed.

"I'm hiding from the two crazies! Where are you?"

"I just got to the mall. Which store are you at?"

I quickly told him which store and waited for him to arrive. My breath almost caught as he walked through the doors. He was wearing dark jeans and a navy blue button up shirt with his letterman jacket. I grabbed his arm just as he stepped into the store and dragged him over to the side.

"You have to help me! They are nuts and I am starving!" I said.

"Well, hello to you too," he chuckled.

Just then, Rose and Alice saw us and started walking toward where we were. Both of them grinning at us.

"What are you doing here Edward?" Alice asked. There was something that she was hinting in her voice but it was probably nothing.

"I actually had to ask Bella about our project and we figured that we have to work on it a bit more tonight. Is it okay if I steal her away from you?" he said smoothly.

He did that so well even I almost believed him. I'd have to ask him for tips on lying later.

Rose jumped in quickly and said, "Sure."

I threw her a thankful smile as Edward helped with my shopping bags and we walked out of the store saying bye to Rose and Alice.

"Oh, Thank God! You saved me!" I sighed.

He laughed. "You know most girls love shopping. I'm surprised that you want to leave."

"I don't mind going shopping if it's for two hours but going onto five hours without any food, that is definitely something I can't handle! I need to be fed!" He chuckled.

I started following him not sure where we were going. "Where are we going?" I asked.

"It's a surprise. Follow me," he said as he continued his way around the mall.

"You know, I really hate surprises. Can't you tell me, please?" I tried pouting but it didn't work this time.

"Really? You hate surprises? You are definitely different than any other girl I know. Most girls love surprises."

"Yeah, but I am not like most girls."

"I realized that."

Then I saw where we were headed. Cheesecake Factory was coming into view and I started jumping up and down. "Cheesecake Factory! This is one of my favorite restaurants!" I squealed. I was just happy to get food in my stomach and good food with a slice of cheesecake was definitely a treat!

"I know," I heard him mumble to himself hoping that I wouldn't hear it but I did. How did he know?

As we walked into the restaurant we were escorted to a small table in the back. It was dim and slightly dark in the restaurant. I sat down in the chair and he sat across from me.

I went through the menu and started looking over the different choices and immediately knew what I wanted.

Once the waitress came to take our orders, she left and it was just the two of us alone. Having dinner. Was I dreaming again? I better not be!

"So what college do you want to go to after RCP?" I asked trying to start some sort of conversation. I noticed that it was getting easier and easier for me to talk to him. I started to feel more comfortable around him.

"Stanford is my first choice but my parents are making me apply to all the Ivy Leagues," he said.

"My parents are forcing me to do the same too but Stanford is also my first choice," I said as he smiled.

"What do you plan to major in?" he asked.

"I plan to major in literature. I really enjoy reading and writing. I'm hoping to become a writer or editor. What about you?"

"I'm looking into their pre-law program, I want to become a lawyer."

"That's great! What kind of lawyer are you looking at becoming?" He looked surprised that I said this and I wondered why.

"I want to be a District Attorney. I've always been interested in criminology and wanted to help put criminals behind bars," he said like it was no big deal.

Are you kidding me?! He wants to be a DA! Wow!

I think I looked shocked at this point. He really did surprise me a lot. He was nothing like how I imagined him to be. It was like I had this preconceived image of him engrained in my brain but everything he said was changing that image. It was definitely becoming better and clearer.

"You're not going to tell me that I should pursue a career in sports?" he asked.

"Why would I do that?" I said curiously.

"Well, most people assume that I would try to get a sports scholarship and get drafted into the NCAA."

"Well, I mean you're good in sports but everyone has a right to what they want to do or what they feel passionate about. I'm glad that you're doing what you want to do and not what everyone else is telling you to do," I said as I smiled.

He smiled back as my eyes gazed into his deep green orbs. I started getting lost into the intensity of his gaze but the waitress interrupted us and put our food down.

As we ate we chatted more and I found out that we had a lot of the same interests. We liked the same music, movies and books. I felt like I was in a dream because it felt like it was just the two of us but this time everything was real and I didn't want it to end.

I looked at my watch and noticed that it had been three hours already and the entire restaurant was empty. They were starting to clean up.

The bill came and I grabbed my purse to pay for my share but he wouldn't let me. I tried struggling but he insisted that he wouldn't let a girl pay. I thanked him profusely for paying for my dinner since I hated when people spent money on me.

We grabbed my bags and headed out of the restaurant toward the dorms. We walked side by side and I realized that it was chilly outside. I started to shiver and walked closer to him for some warmth.

"Are you cold?" he asked.

"Oh, no!" I lied. I didn't want him to think I was some wimpy girl who couldn't stand cold weather.

He started taking off his jacket and handed it to me. "Here put this on."

I stopped walking and stared at the letterman jacket in his hand that he was holding out to me.

First of all, the letterman jackets at school were like gold. Each athlete had one and only one. If someone other than the athlete wore the jacket it was like a claim that you belonged to that athlete. That was why the girlfriends of all the athletes prided themselves in wearing them because no one else could. The jerseys were sold to the public but the letterman jackets were the only true claim.

"Um, that's your letterman jacket and no, you'll freeze," I said as I pushed his arm back.

He pushed his arm back toward me and said, "It's just a jacket and you're cold. I'm fine. Stop being stubborn and please put it on."

I hesitated for a bit. No one ever wore Edward Cullen's jacket. No one. I was freezing and it would only be for a little bit until we got to the dorms. Hopefully no one would see us or this would be plastered all over Tanya's column.

"Okay fine," I said as I grabbed the jacket from his hand and put it on. It was huge on me but it enveloped around my body and kept me warm. I could smell the sweet scent and I knew that I didn't want to take this off. Ever.

God, I hope he didn't see me smelling it. I didn't want to look like some sort of obsessed stalker or something.

We walked in a comfortable silence and I tried sneaking in a few glances at him from time to time and I swear I caught him sneaking glances in my direction too. But it was probably to look at the something behind me.

As we got closer to the dorms, I was wishing that the night wouldn't end. I wanted to spend more time with him. I was getting to know him more and I was falling for the real him not some dreamt up version that I had in my mind all this time. And it wasn't a crush anymore just based on his appearance. I was starting to really like the real Edward Cullen.

As we got to the doorstep of my dorm, I started to shrug off the jacket but he stopped me.

"No, keep it. You can give it back to me tomorrow at our study session," he said.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Positive," as he flashed me a smile. "It looks good on you."

Did he just say that?! My heart was pounding heavier in my chest and I swear I couldn't breathe.

"I had a good time tonight, Bella. I'll see you tomorrow," he said with a hint of sadness in his voice. He pulled me into a hug, wrapping his arms around my neck and pulling my face to his chest.

I was shocked at first but wanted to take advantage of the fact that I was so close to him. It was a friendly hug but I didn't care. As long as I could be close to him I was happy. I was completely consumed with feeling his warm body and getting lost in the intoxicating smell. I wrapped my arms around his back returning the hug. I could swear I felt him smelling my hair but wasn't for sure.

If I had my way, I would stand here forever with his arms around me. I could feel him pull apart from me but I clenched my fists onto his shirt with all my might not wanting to let go. I could feel him pulling away as I hardened my grip onto him and dug my face deeper into his chest. It became a game of tug of war until I heard his voice calling me.

"Bella, Bella?" he asked.

I snapped out of my trance and looked at us. Thank GOD! I wasn't actually clenched onto him. He just pulled out of the hug and I let go. Phew! That would've been really embarrassing.

"Sorry! I was out of it again." I blushed red.

_Good thing he can't read minds! _

He chuckled and looked down at me. I was completely lost in his green eyes again before I could finally muster the chance to say, "Thanks for saving me from the evil clutches of Alice and Rose. I had a great time too."

"Good night, Bella! Sweet dreams," he said as he started walking toward his dorm building.

He had no idea how sweet my dreams could be.

I waved bye to him and said softly, "Bye, Edward."

I was jumping up and down inside with glee. Here I was in Edward's jacket after having dinner with him. It was almost like a date. Even though it wasn't really one but I got to spend time with him outside of schoolwork and it just felt awesome!

I was riding my Edward high as I walked into my building and up to my room. I could hear giggling through the door. It sounded like Alice.

I barely even touched the door when it flung open and I was pulled inside the room.

"GAH!" I heard the door slam behind me.

"Where have you been?" Rose demanded.

"And with my brother?" Alice asked.

"We went to Cheesecake Factory to have dinner. That was it," I said.

"You were gone for three hours! What else did you two do?" Rose asked scanning my face to make sure that I wasn't lying.

"We just ate and talked, that was it. I swear!" I said.

"OH. MY. GOD!" Alice screamed.

"WHAT?!" Rose and I yelled.

"You are wearing his jacket! He gave you his jacket to wear!" Alice squealed jumping up and down.

Rose beamed at me. "Oh, uh, yeah. I was cold so he leant me his jacket to wear. It's nothing. He wants me to give it back to him tomorrow at the library," I said as I shrugged my shoulders.

"It not nothing, Bella! My brother has never let anyone wear his jacket ever!" Alice said.

"And we saw you two outside at the front door looking pretty chummy if you ask me," Rose said.

"Were you two spying on us?! It was just dinner and we're just friends. Just drop it, please!"

I didn't want to talk about it anymore and especially not in front of Alice. She was his sister! Who knew what she would say to him.

After a few more minutes, Alice left. It turned out that she lived on the same floor but had a single room all to herself. I grabbed my pajamas and went to the restroom. I slowly took off his jacket not wanting to part with it.

As soon as I came out dressed in my pajamas, Rose attacked me.

"You have to tell me everything that happened! I know you don't want to say too much in front of Alice but she'll find out eventually," she said.

I sighed. I knew that was going to happen but I wasn't sure if I was ready for that yet.

I went into telling Rose what happened and she looked even more excited about everything than I was. Eventually, I finally drifted off to sleep with Edward starring in my dreams.

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**A/N: Did you like it?! You have to be happy with the E&B action right? **

**Next chapter is Jack and Bella's date and a whole new set of drama! I'm really excited for you all to read it but I'm traveling this weekend and won't be able to update until I get back next week so you'll have to wait until then.  
**

**Please Review! **


	14. Can't Stop

**A/N: Thanks again for the reviews and alerts! You guys are the best! **

**So here is Jack and Bella's date and some more drama but I think it's different than what some of you were expecting. I hope you like it. **

**I also decided to change up my formatting a little. I'm going to move all A/N's to either the top or the bottom of each chapter moving forward so be on the look out.  
**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Twilight or Ally McBeal. I do own the storyline and any characters that I make up.  
**

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**Chapter 14 – Can't Stop**

Song – Can't Stop by Maroon 5

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I was lying face up on the sand, looking up at the night sky. Stars were glowing and twinkling above. I could hear the thunder of the ocean waves crashing against the shore. I felt someone drawing circles on the palm of my hand. I looked next to me and saw Edward lying on his side staring at me.

I looked into the deep green of his eyes and felt a wave of various emotions ranging from admiration and adoration to safety and comfort. I smiled at him as he smiled back at me. I looked back up toward the night sky revelling in the excitement of the situation that I was in.

The circles on my hand stopped and I felt a different hand in its place. As I looked to my right, I saw it was Jack staring back at me with his deep brown eyes and smiling. My excitement and happiness disappeared leaving me with a feeling of emptiness. I saw his mouth moving trying to say something.

He was calling out my name.

"Bella, Bella!" as my body started to shake.

"Huh, what?" I mumbled as I rolled over in my bed. What was going on? Oh, I was just dreaming.

"Wake up! It's Saturday and your date with Jack is tonight!" Alice squealed. God, she sounded more excited about this date than I was. Maybe I could get her to go for me. That was a nice thought.

I opened my eyes trying to focus on what was around me. I saw Rose on her bed with Alice inches away right in front of me smiling. She was so close to my face it freaked me out.

"GAH!" I yelled and jumped out of bed.

Rose and Alice both laughed at my reaction.

"What time is it now?" I asked.

"It's 9:37am! You have to get up so we can start getting you ready for tonight!" Alice chirped.

Why would it take that long for me to get ready for tonight? What the hell?

"I have to be at work at 10AM!" I screamed and scrambled out of bed running to get dressed.

"You can't work today! Call in sick! You have to get ready!" Alice ordered.

"Alice, it's not going to take ten hours for me to get ready for tonight! Am I really that hideous? Besides, I have to get to work. I'll be back at 5pm. See you then!" I said while I ran out of the room not giving her a chance to respond.

As I walked toward the bookstore, I thought more about my dream. I have been dreaming about Edward each night and he was all that I had been thinking about for the entire week after we had dinner on Wednesday.

Before I knew him, I would dream occasionally and think about him here and there but it wasn't all the time. Now it was like every minute of every hour that I would think about him. Consciously and unconsciously.

We spent a lot more time together talking at our study session on Thursday and during our classes. He also walked me to English and Biology every day this week.

It was driving me crazy! I had fallen hard and I knew that it was stupid for me to think this way. There was no way Edward Cullen would ever like me. I was hopeless.

After the long week of being fully consumed on all things Edward, I was definitely regretting the date I had with Jack tonight. It wouldn't be fair to him. I knew where I stood in terms of my feelings even though I knew nothing was going to happen with me and Edward. I knew that I only thought of Jack as a friend.

_But should I give it a chance with Jack? _I wasn't sure.

He was nice to me and he walked me to Econ and Calc everyday this week as well. He even sat with me at lunch this week. It was odd because it felt like him and Edward were alternating lunch days but it was probably my imagination. Boys were just too confusing for me to figure out.

After my long shift at the bookstore, I went back to the dorm to get ready for my date. I went into my room only to be attacked by Rose and Alice.

Both of them complaining that they only had two hours to help me like it wasn't enough time. Are they crazy?

After showering and getting my hair and makeup done, I put on the black dress I bought a few days ago and the black strappy heels that Alice gave me.

I turned to look in the mirror trying to see what damage was done. I just prayed I didn't look like one of Lauren's bimbo friends.

I gasped. WOW! I looked really good! My makeup was done naturally and my hair was curled at the ends and pushed back with a black headband. The dress looked great along with the heels and purse that I had.

"Thanks guys!" I said while smiling at them.

"You look smoking hot!" Rose said.

"Jack is going to be speechless when he sees you!" Alice said.

That wasn't who I wanted to be speechless from seeing me but I smiled back not bothering to say anything.

Just then there was a knock on the door. I went to open it and saw Edward standing there in a black suit with a white button shirt, navy blue tie and black pants.

What was he doing here?! He was grinning at me as I smiled back with the biggest smile on my face.

It was only when he talked that I snapped out of my daze and realized that it was actually Jack and not Edward. I mentally cursed myself again to stop with the daydreams. This was getting out of hand! I definitely couldn't do that tonight on my date. That would just be too embarrassing. And I certainly didn't want Jack to think that I liked him while I was thinking he was Edward.

"Hi Bella," he said shyly with a smile. He was holding a bouquet of white lilies.

"These are for you," he said as he handed me the flowers.

I blushed pink. I had never received flowers from a guy before. They weren't my favorite flowers but it was still such a nice gesture.

"Hi Jack. Thanks!" I said as I took the flowers and put them by my nightstand.

"Hi Rose, Alice," he said as he saw Rose and Alice sitting on the bed staring at us.

_God, could they make this any more uncomfortable?! _

"Are you ready to go?" he asked breaking the silence.

"Yeah, let's go!" I said as I grabbed my cropped long-sleeved black cardigan sweater and headed out the door. I waved bye to Rose and Alice who both winked at me before I shut the door.

_Let's get this over with! _

We headed out to his car. He drove a black BMW M5. We got into the car and he sped off on the way to the restaurant.

We chatted on the way there. We also joked around and laughed. It wasn't so bad. I wasn't feeling as uncomfortable as I thought I would.

As he pulled up to Madre's in Pasadena, I got out of the car and we walked up to the hostess table. He made reservations and we were escorted to a booth in the back of the restaurant.

I looked at the menu trying to decide what I was going to get. I finally put it down when I noticed him staring at me. I started to flush red and looked away.

"You look really pretty tonight," he said.

"Thanks!" I said quickly.

After that awkward moment, we started chatting away again about school. While we were talking, I had the chance to look at him. And really look at him this time. He was definitely good-looking. I could see why there were girls at school that liked him. He was tall and the same height as Edward. He had the same muscular and lean build. His skin was lightly tanned compared to Edward's pale skin. He had brown eyes that would light up whenever he talked about something he really enjoyed and liked.

Overall, he was a really good guy and cute. Possibly a great choice if I wasn't so stuck up on Edward.

After dinner, we got back in the car and he drove us to Old Town Pasadena. We walked side by side around Colorado Street chatting more and going into stores. He was never aggressive which I was thankful for. If he reached out to hold my hand, I wouldn't know what to do. I would probably slap it away or scream and he wouldn't appreciate that even as a friend.

We ended up getting Pinkberry and walked into a few more stores and people-watched while eating our frozen yogurt.

Sadly, the entire time, I couldn't help but wish that it was Edward with me instead of Jack. I knew that I wouldn't ever be able to think of Jack in that way. I knew I had to say something before the end of the night.

After a few hours, we went back to the car and he drove us back to school. As we got out of the car, he walked me to the front door of my dorm. I could see people staring at us.

It was silent for a moment and I wasn't sure what to say so I looked down at the floor staring at my feet.

"Bella, I had a great time tonight," he said.

Oh, here it goes. I need to say something.

"Thank you for dinner and Pinkberry. I had fun too," I said.

Damn, it! I need to somehow weave in that I only want to be friends. How am I going to do this?

Hopefully, he won't ask me out on a second date and then I'm all clear.

"So, I … uh, I was wondering if you wanted to go out again some time," he asked with a smile on his face.

Oh no, I could feel my stomach churning. I don't want to give him bad news. But this isn't fair to him! I don't like him.

Here goes.

"Um, Jack … I had a lot of fun tonight and you're a great guy. It's just that I only really see you as nothing more than just a friend. I just don't want you to think anything else if we were to go out again," I said sincerely.

I could see his smile fall slightly. Oh no. I felt so bad.

"Oh no, that's fine. I understand. Don't worry about it. Maybe we can hang out next time just as friends, you know?" he said nervously.

"Yeah, that would be great. Just as friends," I said repeating it back so that he knew I only wanted to be friends.

He leaned in to give me a friendly hug as I hugged him back. He bent down and I froze because I didn't want him to kiss me. I just told him we were friends!

Instead, he kissed my cheek. Phew! Thank God!

"See you Monday, Jack!" I said as I pulled away from him and walked up to the dorm door.

"See you Bella. Good Night!" he said as he walked away with his shoulders slumped.

I walked back up to my room feeling horrible for making him feel bad but I knew I had to tell him the truth. There was no way I was going on a second date with him and make him think that I liked him.

As soon as I got back to my room, the door flung open and an arm reached out and grabbed me pulling me inside.

_Why were they always doing that to me?! _

As soon as the door slammed shut, I was cornered by Rose and Alice. With Rose, I was scared but with Alice it was even scarier.

"How did it go?! Why do you look like someone died?!" Rose shouted.

"What happened?" Alice yelped.

"Can you two just get out of my face for a second?!" I yelled shielding myself with my arms. They both got out my way as I walked toward my bed.

"I'm sure you saw everything from the window anyways, right?"

They both nodded their heads as I sat down and motioned for them to sit down too. Then I went into the details of the date and let them know what happened.

"I feel so bad for telling him that I only thought of him as a friend. You should've seen his face. I'm such a horrible person!" I groaned.

"You are not horrible! You were just telling him the truth but why did you say no to a second date? I mean, he is one of the hottest guys at this school and he is nice and charming. You could get to know him more and who knows what if you do like him?" Alice said.

_Because there is already the other hottest guy in school that is also nice and charming that I am smitten with. _I wanted to shout that out but I kept my mouth shut.

"I just don't like him. I don't have feelings for him in that way. I only see him as a friend. And I don't want him to think that I do have feelings," I said. I looked over at Rose who knew why I didn't want to go on a second date with him. She knew just from my look. I hoped Alice didn't catch that.

"What is going on?" Alice asked with her hands on her hips.

"What are you talking about?" I replied nonchalantly trying to brush it off. There was no way I was going to tell Alice, Edward's sister that I was utterly infatuated with her brother.

"I saw the look you gave Rose, Bella! Don't lie to me! You suck at lying!"

_How did she know that?! _

"You might as well tell her Bella. She'll find out eventually," Rose said.

Great! Stupid Best Friend who had to open her big mouth!

"Tell me what?" Alice said bouncing up and down.

"It's nothing, Alice," I said.

"Come on Bella. You know I won't tell anyone if you tell me," she pleaded. And then she gave me a pout and puppy dog eyes that I could not say no to. I was trying hard to resist but I was too weak. I gave in.

"Fine, but you cannot breathe a word of this to anyone. Only Jasper and Rose know. Do you promise?"

"I cross my heart and hope to die promise!" She said.

I paused. What was I supposed to say? How do I even tell her?

"She's in love with your brother!" Rose answered for me.

Stupid, Stupid Best Friend!

I glared at Rose. I turned to Alice to protest but Alice had the biggest smile on her face. She clapped her hands together screaming with her eyes wide.

"REALLY?!"

"I'm not in love with him … yet," I said softly.

She ran over to me throwing her arms around me hugging me tightly.

"OH MY GOSH! THIS IS THE BEST THING EVER!" She screamed so quickly that I could barely understand what the heck she just said.

"Alice … Can't … Breathe!" I said while patting my hand on her back to let go.

"Oh, sorry!" She said as she let go with the smile still plastered on her face.

"Uh, um. Alice, why are you so excited? You know that nothing is ever going to happen right?"

"There she goes, again!" Rose hissed.

"What?! Why do you think that?" Alice asked confused.

"Bella, here thinks that she's not in the same league as Edward and that Edward would never think of her in that way." Rose answered for me.

"It's not that," I said as I rolled my eyes at her.

"Oh, really? What is it then?" Rose asked.

"It's just … there are so many girls at this school that he can choose from, why would he choose me? I'm just normal and plain and not like the upper echelon that you all hang out with. I just don't fit in," I said.

"WHAT?!" Alice shrieked.

"Do you really think that?" Alice yelled while turning to Rose, "Does she really think that?" like I was crazy.

Rose nodded.

"Why?" Alice asked.

I launched into my life story at RCP. And then she asked me the question, I was hoping she wouldn't ask.

"Bella, how long have you liked my brother for?"

I paused for a moment before I answered. How should I approach this? Should I just be truthful? Yeah. Probably.

"Exactly 3 years, 3 weeks, 2 days and 10 hours." I muttered. She's going to think I'm a freak!

Her mouth dropped open in what looked like shock. Yep, she thinks I'm a freak.

But then she also looked as if a light bulb went on inside her head. Then she gave me a big smile. My face turned bright red. Rose was smirking at us. It was so embarrassing spilling my guts out to his sister of all people.

"Bella! You have to tell him!" she said.

"WHAT?! Are you freaking crazy?!" I yelled jumping off my bed. "There is no way in hell that I am going to say anything! He doesn't like me and that's final! We are only friends and lab partners!"

"Stop being so stubborn," Alice said. She looked at Rose, "Is she always this stubborn?"

Rose nodded.

"Hello?! I am right here. Stop talking like I'm not in the room. And wHelHhat is this? Bash Bella Day?!" I yelled.

"No, no. It's just … WOW, I thought you were great but I never fully realized how perfect this is until now," Alice said.

"Realized what? Perfect? What are you talking about?" I asked completely confused.

"I thought you were always great for my brother!" she said.

I was shocked. Did she really think that?

"Are you smoking something?" I said.

She was overly hyper and excited all the time. That might explain why.

"NO! I am being serious and stop negating me, ISABELLA MARIE SWAN!" she yelled.

Yikes! I told her my full name when we went shopping but hearing her say it made me cringe.

I jumped back. "What I was saying is that I never knew how perfect you two were for each other until now!" She said.

WHAT?! Did I hear her correctly? Perfect for each other?

I didn't want to believe it even though it was his sister telling me this. I didn't want to get my hopes up high only to have my heart get crushed into a million pieces.

"I know you're trying to make me feel better, Alice." I said. Alice and Rose both rolled their eyes at me.

"So what about you? Do you have someone in mind?" I asked trying to change the subject. I already knew this answer but I pretended that I had no clue as to what was going on.

I could see Alice blush. "Oh, I know that blush. Spill, Cullen!" Rose yelled.

"Well, you see … I think I really like … Jasper!" she said quickly.

"WHAT?! REALLY?!" Rose screamed.

Alice nodded her head. "Are you okay with that?" she asked looking at both of us. I had a huge grin on my face.

"Of course, why wouldn't we be?" Rose asked.

"Well, because you're his sister and you're his best friend," she said.

"Oh, I approved a long time ago," I said as I burst into giggles.

Rose laughed as Alice threw me a questioning look. "Has he asked you out yet?" Rose asked.

Alice blushed again. I answered for her because I already knew from Jasper.

"They went to dinner last night!" Alice threw me a how-do-you-know look.

"He's my best friend, remember?" I said as she realized that he already told me.

"How did it go?" Rose asked.

"It was amazing. He's so perfect!" she said dreamily.

"That's so great! I'm so happy for you guys!" I said as Rose nodded in agreement.

Jasper called me last night telling me what happened. He was head over heels for Alice. I was so happy for him but confirming with Alice her feelings for him today was even better. I knew they were made for each other.

"HOLD ON, don't change the subject Bella!" Alice screeched.

Opps, I got caught. I winced back ready for her yelling.

"I was not trying to make you feel better Bella. I was telling the truth," she stated.

"You're not going to get anywhere with her if that's what you're trying to do," Rose said.

"Fine, we'll just have to try a different way," Alice said as she smiled at Rose and then at me. I could see her brain working and the gears moving quickly.

Uh, Oh … What did I do now?

**

* * *

**

It was Monday. As I got up in bed, I wasn't feeling too well but shook it off. It was probably my nerves getting to me. I got up picking up the paper looking for Tanya's column again. As soon as I opened the paper, I saw it.

_**Team Beck or Team Edella?**_ – _Bella Swan spotted with Jack Taylor and Edward Cullen. Who will she choose or more importantly which team are you on? Looks like a battle is brewing …_

There on the front of the section was a huge picture of me wearing Edward's jacket and a picture of me with Jack hugging as he kissed my cheek. There were pictures of my dinner with Edward and pictures of my dinner with Jack as well as a picture of Edward hugging me.

Good GOD! Can I ever catch a break?!

I screamed waking up Rose yet again like I do every Monday morning. She jumped out of bed and grabbed the paper from my clenched fists.

"What is it this time?!" she yelled.

I saw her eyes widen at the images and then she smiled.

Right then my phone rang. I picked it up knowing who it was.

"Yes, Jazz, I saw it!" I screamed into the phone.

"You better explain to Emmett about Wednesday with Edward because he's pissed that he did–" Jasper said getting cut off. There was some shuffling sounding like he was fighting with someone for the phone.

"BEL-LA!" I heard Emmett yell. I cringed.

He didn't know about Wednesday. Not like anything happened or that it was a big deal and I didn't think he would be mad but he sounded pissed.

"Em, don't be mad at her. It wasn't a date. It just happened when she was at the mall." I heard Jasper explaining to Emmett in the background.

Thank God for Jasper!

"Give me the phone now!" Emmett commanded as I heard Jasper sigh and handing over the phone.

"Bella, when were you planning to tell me what's going on with you and Edward?" He asked in his stern big brother voice.

"Em, it's nothing. There is nothing going on. I was at the mall with Alice and Rose and I bumped into him. Rose and Alice wanted to shop some more so we decided to get dinner. It wasn't a date, I swear! And nothing happened," I said.

"Well, from the looks of these pictures, it looks like something is going on. Would you care to tell me what you are doing?"

"What do you mean what am I doing?" I snapped. He better not be implying what I think he is implying.

"Well, you look pretty friendly with both of them in these pictures. Are you going to pick one or lead them both on?" He gritted through his teeth.

Oh he DID NOT just go there!

"EMMETT SWAN! Do you not know your sister at all?!" I screamed into the phone.

Rose widened her eyes at my tone of voice and looked at me with concern.

"Yes, I do and I hope that you know what you are doing!" He said back coldly.

"Emmett, I know what I'm doing! I can't believe you would think that about me! Your own sister! I'm not like Lauren Mallory and her group of sluts, you know?!" I screamed into the phone ready to hang up on my stupid idiotic brother.

There was silence on the other line before he spoke up.

"Bella, I don't think you're like Mallory and her friends. I'm just worried about you. I'm sorry. I didn't mean what I said. I just freaked when I saw the pictures. You're my baby sister and I just don't like how there are guys giving you attention. It's hard for me. Especially seeing it in pictures," his voice softened.

I paused for a bit calming myself down and lowered my voice.

"Em, I know that it's hard for you but really, trust me. They are just friends. Nothing is going on. I told Jack on Saturday that I only see him as a friend. And Edward and I are only friends and lab partners. Nothing more!"

"Okay, okay. Please don't be mad at me." He pleaded.

"I'm not mad anymore. It's just hard getting used to having my big brother going to the same school with me, that's all." I sighed.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. It's hard enough having to tune out what they say about you in the locker ro–. Nevermind, it's nothing."

"Wait, WHAT?!"

"Nothing, Bells. It's nothing! I gotta get ready now for school, gotta go, bye!" He said hurriedly as he hung up the phone.

I stared at the phone. What the heck was that about? They talk about me in the locker room? EW! I felt so dirty.

Rose gave me a tell-me-everything look when I hung up. I told her about the phone conversation. She was pissed at Emmett too and told me that she would talk to him. I thanked her and changed getting ready for another crazy Monday at school.

I couldn't help but think that if Emmett jumped to conclusions what would everyone else think? I was starting to feel sick again and wasn't sure if I should even go to class today. I was probably feeling nervous because of the new news floating around school.

But for some reason I was sure it was going to be bad day. I just had a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach.

**

* * *

**

It was lunch period now and the entire morning I was getting death glares and snickers from girls. Some smiled at me with a look of inspiration in their eyes. Probably thinking that I was some sort of legend by having to choose between two of the hottest and most popular guys in school. That was ridiculous!

Jack was a little distant and cold to me and I wasn't sure if it was because of the weekend. I felt bad again and didn't know what to do.

Edward was a little distant as well and I couldn't help but think it was because of the damn column. He probably thinks that I am a just like Lauren Mallory and her group of friends.

I still wasn't feeling well and wasn't sure if I should just go back to my dorm room and skip classes for the rest of the day.

I bought my lunch and walked with Rose to our table. Emmett and Jasper were still getting their food.

As soon as we sat down, Lauren Mallory and her group of bimbos came sauntering over to us.

"Swan!" she screamed at the top of her lungs causing everyone to stare. The entire food court fell silent.

She had her arms crossed against her chest and was glaring at me menacingly. Her group stood behind her with the same exact same look and stance.

"What do you want Mallory?!" Rose seethed standing up from the table.

"Butt out, Hale! I was talking to Swan!" she snickered. "Stay away from Edward and Jack!"

"What are you talking about?" I said calmly trying hard not to sound like an idiot since the entire school was watching us now.

I was never afraid of Lauren but I was just nervous because of all the stares.

"Don't act stupid. I saw the article in today's column. I know that you are out for both of them and just know that you can't have them. Because one Edward is mine and two Jack is mine too!"

She just claimed both guys in front of the entire school. She really did get around.

"So is every guy at this school yours then? Because we all know that you've been with more than half the student body here as well as all the other rival schools." Rose scoffed.

"You! Ugh!" Lauren huffed. "Just stay away Swan!"

"What are you saying, Lauren? That they belong to you? They aren't pieces of meat!" I said trying hard not to lose my temper. I was sure there was steam coming out of my head.

"I know the game you're playing Swan. You're just trying to act innocent to get them. You think you even have a chance? HA! Look in the mirror!"

"Have YOU looked in the mirror?! Because it looks like your sprout of herpes has come back," Rose hissed.

Lauren flinched and placed her hand around her mouth to actually check to see if she had herpes. She didn't deny it. Ew!

"Bella is hundred times prettier than you will ever be! You're just jealous!" Alice yelled as I noticed that her and Jenny were standing next to us.

"Stay out of it shorty! You're just lucky you're related to Edward. And you," Lauren shouted while pointing her long bony finger at Rose. "I told you to stay out of it Hale! You'll get yours coming to you soon!"

That did it. She pushed me over the edge. She was going to feel my wrath now.

I stood up this time slamming my fists against the table. I glared at Lauren and raised my voice, "Listen, Malibu Barbie! Don't ever call Alice shorty ever again! And leave Rose alone!"

I was surprised at my outburst but I knew that once I was mad there was no going back. I could feel the adrenaline pumping through my veins.

"My life is none of your business. Now if you could leave, we would like to eat our lunch in peace and not have it ruined by you." I said defiantly.

"Oh, you made it my business when you waltzed in here, thinking you could take what's yours! Don't forget that you're only where you are right now because of your brother and the female Hale!"

I winced back. Hopefully she didn't see it.

She saw it and narrowed her eyes at me while giving me an evil pout. "Aw, little Bella Swan actually thought she had real friends and that guys were actually interested in her. You should go and crawl back into whatever hole you came from!"

Rose tried to lunge at her while I grabbed onto her holding her back.

Ouch. That was harsh. But it was true. Even though I would hate to admit it. I didn't want her words to get to me but I knew it would. I could start to feel the tears gathering in my eyes but forced myself to hold them back. I didn't want her to get the best of me and make me cry in front of the entire school.

"Stop it, Lauren!" Jenny yelled.

"Don't start with me Jenny or I'll give you hell to pay during cheer practice."

I started to feel bad. I didn't want my friends to suffer because of what she was doing to me. I gave Jenny a please-stop look and she hesitated.

"I'm watching you Swan. You better watch your back. All of you!" She hissed.

Right when it could not have gotten any worse in terms of embarrassment, more than half of the football team showed up by our table headed by Emmett, Edward and Jack. Jasper was with them as well. All of them had their arms crossed against their chests while shooting daggers at Lauren and her friends.

"What are you doing, Mallory?" Emmett yelled.

Lauren and her followers jumped at his booming voice and cowered back.

"Nothing," she said as she fluttered her eyelashes pretending to act innocent.

"Don't lie Lauren. We saw the whole thing," Edward said.

"But I'm not lying, Eddie!" She purred trying to sound seductive while placing her hand on his arm.

He swatted her arm away and hissed, "Don't call me Eddie! And leave all of us alone!"

I guess she was annoying to everyone. I could see Lauren recoil back. Judging from the look on her face, she was definitely not expecting Edward to react that way.

"Stay away from my sister, my girlfriend and their friends!" Emmett snapped.

She better not say anything stupid.

"Emmy, I didn't do anything." She said.

She went there. As soon as the words came out of her mouth, I grabbed onto Rose again holding her back.

"MALLORY! DON'T EVER CALL HIM EMMY EVER AGAIN! YOU ARE ASKING FOR IT!" Rose yelled at the top of her lungs. I could see Alice trying to hold her back with me as well.

"Whatever, Bitch. Bring it on!" She said.

"Oh, we will. You better watch your back!" Rose screamed.

With that Lauren and her group of friends turned and stalked out of the food court swinging their hips from side to side. There was clapping and cheering that erupted as soon as she left. It seemed like a majority of the school hated Lauren Mallory just as much as we did.

Before anyone could approach me, Alice came over and threw her arms around me into a big hug.

"Thanks for sticking up for me Bella! No one outside of Edward has done that for me before. You really are a great friend. Best friend in fact," she said while smiling at me.

"Best friends," I said while smiling back at her. "And I should be thanking you, Rose and Jenny for helping me!" I said as I returned the hug.

I started thinking back to what Lauren had said. I knew I shouldn't let it bother me but it still did. But after the standoff with Lauren, I knew that Jenny and Alice were my real friends, no matter what Lauren had said.

But it made me wonder about Jack and Edward. I mean Edward and Jack only started talking to me this year and it was probably because of Emmett. Not that I cared much about Jack talking to me but I knew he would be a good friend even though I didn't have romantic feelings for him.

But with Edward it was a different story. I was secretly hoping that something would happen deep down inside. But after what Lauren said, it just confirmed my worst fear. That he only talked to me because of Emmett and not because he truly wanted get to know me for me.

I started feeling sick and wasn't sure what it was. My stomach was churning and my head was spinning.

"Are you okay? You look a little pale," Alice said.

"I-I'm not feeling too well. I'm going to head back to my room," I said as I reached for my book bag. "Can you tell Rose, Jasper and Emmett that I went to the dorms?" I said quickly wanting to run out and get some fresh air.

I could feel my heart pounding in my chest and my breathing getting harder. I was trying to focus on what I was doing. I looked up and locked my gaze onto two piercing emerald green eyes watching me with concern. But then my eyes started to get blurry and all I could see were the two green orbs coming closer toward me.

"Bella, you don't look so good. Do yo–"

And before she could finish the sentence, all I could hear were screams as everything around me went black.

* * *

**A/N: Did you like the cliffy? Hahaha ... I'm evil! **

**For the line that Bella says, "Exactly 3 years, 3 weeks, 2 days and 10 hours." ****I got this from Love Actually just in case it sounded familiar!**

**Team Edella in this story is to be pronounced like the name Adela or more like E-DEL-LA. I know it's an odd way of writing it but I liked it better than using Team Bellward. **

**Let me know what you think. As for Team Beck (I love that nickname but this is a B&E Story) ... you won't be seeing too much of that moving forward for some of you that were concerned. Poor Jack. I feel bad for the guy. He's a good guy. I'm not going to make him out to be an enemy. But I hope you liked the date and that it wasn't too bad, right? **

**Please Review! **


	15. Crazy For You

**A/N: Thanks for reviewing on the last chapter! I see that by leaving a cliffy I got more reviews! Hmmm ... maybe I should do that more often! =)  
**

**Well, I'm glad that no one got upset about the Jack & Bella date. But I know everyone's wondering what happened to Bella?! Well, I don't even know if this is physically possible below but remember it's just fiction and this is how I'm writing the story. It's nothing too crazy but I figured it would bring some more interaction between E&B in the story so read on below! **

**Also, I love cover songs and I will be including a bunch in the next few chapters. Of course, I love the original songs as well but I didn't want to put old 80's-90's songs on here and used the more current versions for your reading enjoyment.  
**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Twilight or Ally McBeal. I do own the storyline and any characters that I make up.  
**

* * *

**Chapter 15 – Crazy for You  
**

Song – Crazy for You by New Found Glory (Original Version by Madonna)

* * *

I was floating. Or at least I felt like I was floating. Whatever dream this was I was enjoying it. I felt as light as air. And I could smell a sweet scent that I had become familiar with. I didn't want it to go away. I buried myself into the scent not bothering to care what it was, just that I wanted to relish in it.

I could faintly hear someone calling my name but I didn't pay any attention to it. I was just basking in my own enjoyment.

Then the voice started getting clearer and louder and I could see light hitting my closed eyes. I heard some other voices as well chattering frantically. I shifted and buried myself deeper into the scent not wanting to leave.

"Bella, Bella." I heard a silky voice calling me with a hint of panic and worry.

_No, just let me enjoy this moment a little longer before it goes away. _

I could feel my body moving slightly with the wind hitting my arms giving me goosebumps. I shivered a bit and then felt something wrap around me keeping me warm.

The scent was stronger now and all I wanted to do was enjoy this exhilarating feeling that I was having.

"Bella, please wake up." The velvety voice pleaded. It sounded so sad and my heart felt like it was being tugged.

I reluctantly gave up and slowly fluttered my eyes open still burying myself deeper into the scent. And then I realized what was going on.

SHIT!

I froze and shut my eyes quickly hoping that it was just a dream. I slowly opened my eyes, one by one and looked up. I could see Edward looking down at me with care in his eyes.

"Bella, are you okay?" He asked.

"I-I'm fine. I think. What happened?" I croaked. My throat was burning. I looked down at my body and saw that I was scooped up bridal style in Edward's arms with his blazer placed over me.

"Edward, where are you taking me?" I asked confused.

But all I could think about was what I was doing earlier. My face flushed bright red. I was actually semi-awake earlier and burying myself into Edward's chest while smelling him. I was sure he could feel it and knew what I was doing.

Oh Good God! That is so embarrassing!

"I'm taking you to the medical center."

"She's awake!" Alice squealed beside him looking at me. Jasper, Emmett and Rose came over as well looking at me.

I didn't need a whole freaking entourage to bring me to the medical center!

"Bells, I was so worried!" Emmett boomed.

"What happened?" I asked.

"You passed out and you look so pale. Are you feeling sick today?" Rose said.

"Yeah, I was feeling sick this morning."

I groaned still feeling weak and tired. I coughed.

"She's burning up," Edward said.

As we made our way to the medical center, Edward carried me in and was told to bring me into one of the rooms and set me down on the bed. I didn't want to let go but I knew I had to. I didn't want to look like a monkey clinging onto him.

I hated doctors and nurses and started feeling scared. The nurses then told everyone to leave the room.

"We'll be right outside," Jasper said placing his hand on my shoulder trying to calm me down.

I looked at Edward noticing that he looked so worried. Was he really worried about me?

They exited the room as the nurses ran tests and the doctor came in asking me questions. After all of the tests and numerous questions, I felt so tired and weak that I fell asleep.

**

* * *

**I shifted slightly in my sleep. I slowly opened my eyes to a dark room with a light coming from the hallway. My head was still pounding and I was sweating. My throat was killing me.

How long was I out for?

I turned to look at the clock. It was 7:34pm. I stretched my arms and legs but still felt weak and tired. I looked around the room and then my eyes locked on a dark figure that was sleeping in the chair in the room.

I was trying to adjust my eyes to see who it was. My eyes widened as I realized that it was Edward sitting there.

Edward was sleeping in the same room as me!

He was waiting here for me! I screamed inside forgetting that I felt extremely sick.

I took the time to study his face while he slept.

Okay, not to sound stalkerish but if one of the hottest guys in school was sleeping in the same room with you, I'm sure you'd do the same.

He looked pained while he slept with creases of worry that were shown on his forehead. His angular jaw was clenched. His messy hair covering his eyes. His pale skin slightly glowing in the dark. He was still wearing his uniform and I wondered how long he was asleep here for.

I heard someone peek into the room and looked toward the door. It was Alice and Rose.

"She's awake!" They both squealed while flipping on the lights. I rubbed my eyes adjusting to the brightness in the room. I coughed a little bit more and knew that I was definitely sick.

I saw Edward jump up from the chair, stretching his arms and legs. He rubbed his eyes but kept his gaze on me.

Rose and Alice came over and gave me a hug while sitting on my bed.

"What happened?" I asked in a raspy voice.

"The doctor said that you have the flu and that you have to take a few days off to rest," Edward said.

"Why did I pass out?"

"The doctor said that you fainted because you had a panic attack and because you were already sick it made things worse and you passed out. They want to keep you here overnight for observation but you can go back to the dorms tomorrow," Rose said.

Then Jasper and Emmett came into the room.

"There's my little sis!" Emmett boomed while giving me a hug.

"Bells, are you okay?" Jasper asked as I nodded that I was fine. He gave me a hug as well and stood to the side next to Alice. I smiled at them.

"Bells, the doc said that you're too stressed. You're going to quit the job at the bookstore. And Rose can help alternate with the tutoring sessions." Emmett said like he was lecturing me.

"I'm not quitting my job!" I croaked as loud as I could.

"You don't need the additional stress from work, Bella! And it's not like you need the money." He boomed.

"That's not the reason why I work there and you know it. I love the bookstore!" I looked at Jasper trying to plead with him to help me but he shrugged his shoulders and looked away. He was on Emmett's side on this. Ugh!

"You can still love it as a customer. You're quitting and that's final."

"Fine." I rolled my eyes giving into him. I didn't feel like arguing with him anymore since I felt like I was hit by a bus.

"Fine. Now would you mind telling me what else has been stressing you out? It's not because of what Lauren Mallory said is it?" He asked.

All eyes in the room were focused on me as I sunk back into the bed. I could see Edward clenching his fists.

"No, it's not that," I said softly.

"You're lying." Emmett said at the same time as everyone else in the room yelled, "She's lying!"

Ugh! This sucks! They could all see right through me. I crossed my arms against my chest and huffed.

"Can I talk to Emmett alone please?" I asked. Everyone nodded their heads as they left the room. Edward was the last to leave. He glanced at me again with a worried look but I gave him a reassuring smile as he closed the door.

"Em, there's something that I have to tell you," I said nervously.

I saw Emmett raise his eyebrows and then a look of shock fell on his face. His eyes widened as he jumped up from the bed and yelled, "OH MY GOD! YOU'RE PREGNANT?! WHO IS IT? IS IT EDWARD? I'M GOING TO KILL HIM!!"

"WHAT?! NO! NO! OH MY GOD! HELL NO! ARE YOU CRAZY?!" I yelled as loud as I could.

"Calm down, Em! It's not that at all. I haven't even done _that_ yet!" I hissed.

He calmed down and sat back on the bed.

"Oh … Oh … Okay … Phew! Wait, you haven't done that yet?" He asked.

I shook my head no. My face turned bright red. I was definitely not having a sex talk with my brother of all people.

"Well, um …" He started getting nervous. What was he so nervous about?

"Did you … um … need me to tell you … um … about the birds and the bees?" He said.

I cracked up laughing. Well, what I could laugh through my sore throat but just seeing his face was enough to make me fall over with laughter.

But then I stopped laughing because I did not want my brother giving me a sex talk. NO WAY! And definitely not from Emmett. Who knew what kind of graphic images he could conjure up.

"NO! Please don't! Emmett, we learned that in 6th grade! I do not need my brother telling me about it! And I don't want to talk about it with you!" I tried to yell through my hoarseness.

"Oh, okay. Good. You scared the shit out of me. Well, what is it then?" He asked.

"Well, the reason why I had a panic attack today was because of what Lauren said. Not because of Lauren herself. She doesn't scare me. It's just her words that freaked me out. And it has to do with something that I've kept as a secret for a long time now," I said.

"How long?"

"Well, about three years." I gulped.

"You see, I sort of kind of have a huge crush on Edward," I said quickly and quietly while burying my face in my pillow.

"What did you say? I didn't catch it."

"I have had a crush on Edward for the past three years now," I said slowly this time.

"OH … So … what's the big deal?" He shrugged.

"You're not mad or upset?"

"No, why would I be? Edward is a great guy and I'm on Team Edella!" He said.

I rolled my eyes at him. Leave it to Emmett to endorse Tanya's stupid nickname.

"But what did Lauren say that made you so upset?" He asked.

"Well, in case you were blind, Emmett, I was a nobody at this school until you and Rose came. Jasper was my only real friend. Then when you and Rose came and I started making new friends. Friends who are so nice and great. And when Lauren said those things to me today, it made me feel like these friends aren't really my friends and that they are only talking to me because of you. And it's not like what she said just affected me from today, it's been bothering me since school started."

I could feel the tears starting to spill over as they ran down my cheeks.

"And then I finally had a chance to talk to Edward after all these years. I really hoped that Edward was my friend or whatever we are because he wanted to talk to me and not because of you and Rose. I just felt like everything was just a dream and not real. Like I was living this great dream all along and that I would wake up and find out that it was all fake."

Emmett reached over and grabbed me into a hug stroking my hair as I sobbed.

"Don't cry, Bells! You know that Lauren is a bitch and whatever she says is a bunch of bullshit. These people are your friends. Everyone that you've met this year. Alice and Jenny are your friends too. They stood up for you in front of Lauren. Doesn't that count for something?"

I nodded my head as he continued.

"I know it took awhile for you to open up but you have to know that people thought you and Jasper were a couple this entire time. No one wanted to approach you two because they thought you both just wanted to be alone. I mean from the way you both acted when school first started I wasn't surprised at what they thought about you two. Both of you shut people out and were in your own little bubble."

I pulled away from him looking at his face as the sobs died down. It was true. Jasper and I were so involved with our world that we rarely if ever talked to other people and got to know anyone.

"You're right but is that what everyone else really thought?"

"Yes. I hear it from everyone. They are all glad that you both opened up. And if you don't believe me, you can check my phone. I have received over fifty messages from everyone asking if you are okay."

He pulled out his cell phone to show me the text messages.

"And Edward was the one that caught you when you fainted and was adamant about carrying you to the medical center. He wouldn't let go even when I asked to carry you. And he stayed the entire time while you were sleeping. He skipped the rest of his classes today and football practice to stay with you. So I have no idea what you are so worried about. Honestly, Team Edella better happen soon. His mood swings are driving the entire team crazy."

"Mood swings?" I asked confused. I knew he would get moody here and there but why would he lash out at the football team.

"Yeah, it's every time someone even mentions your nam–. Uh, nevermind. Are you feeling better squirt?" He asked nervously shifting his eyes to the floor.

"Emmett, what are you talking about?" I asked.

"Oh, it's nothing. I'm going to bring everyone else back in now. I'm glad to see you feeling better!" He yelled as he jumped off the bed running toward the door.

I shook my head. I was going to find out one of these days.

Edward came back into the room and sat down at the edge of the bed. He was looking at me like I was so fragile, like I could break any minute. He gave me a slight smile.

No one else came in yet. That was weird.

"Edward, where is everyone else?"

"They decided to grab dinner. I told them to get you some soup."

"What about you? You need to eat too."

"They are getting food for me. Are you feeling okay?"

"Well, other than the fact that I sound like a frog trying to talk and that I'm super tired and weak. I'm fine," I said while giving him a weak smile.

"You didn't have to skip your classes and football practice to stay with me today," I said sternly.

"I was worried about my friend and lab partner. It was necessary." He said.

Oh, so he only thought me as a friend. Not that I should be surprised. I was expecting it but I guess I felt deflated when I heard it coming out of his mouth. Oh well, at least I can be his friend. That's better than nothing.

"Don't let Lauren get to you. She's not worth anyone's time."

"Don't worry. I won't let her get to me again," I said. Right then, he placed his hand over mine and I swear my heart rate sped off. I was lucky I wasn't hooked up to a heart monitor or it would be going crazy right now. I could feel the electricity shoot through me but ignored it. I had to remind myself that he only thinks of me as a friend.

"Bella, are you sure you are okay? I know you are upset." He said.

"Edward, I'm fine. Really. Thank you for being so concerned but I really don't want you to worry. I should also thank you for catching me when I passed out," I said giving him a smile.

He gave me a curious look. "Emmett told me what happened," I said as my cheeks flushed pink. I looked away toward the floor and I felt his hand push my chin up.

"Don't look away. I like it when you blush," he said.

Okay, great. My cheeks were on fire now. He started reaching out his hand to push a strand of my hair behind my ear when the door flew open making us both jump.

"Dinner's here!" Alice chirped. She came in and placed the to-go bags filled with food on the table.

"I have to go. Jazzy's waiting for me!" She said bouncing up and down and skipping out of the room.

"See you two!" She grinned widely to the both of us as she closed the door.

"Jazzy, huh?" I looked at Edward and laughed. "Well, it looks like those two have gotten close."

Edward handed me the cup of soup as he took out his sandwich.

"Are you okay with that?" He asked looking through the to-go bag.

"What do you mean?" I asked confused.

He knew Jasper was my best friend right? I mean the whole school knew now after the article.

He shrugged his shoulders. "You two seem close."

"We are close. Jasper's my best friend. He's like an older brother to me even though we're the same age. He always has been. Our parents are good friends and so we grew up together. Emmett, Rose, Jasper and I were always close but during junior high when Rose and Emmett started hanging out together more it forced Jasper and I to be together more often. So we grew closer and then we ended up going to RCP together and our bond just grew stronger."

"So you two never …" he trailed off. I wasn't sure what he wanted to ask but it seemed to be troubling him.

"You two never had feelings for each other because you know … uh … um … they say that a guy and girl can't be best friends without feelings," he said nonchalantly.

He ran his hand through his hair. He was nervous. I don't know what he was so nervous about.

"No, not at all. EW! That's just gross!" I said as I shivered.

I looked at him to see him smiling. I guess someone was happy about that. He was probably being protective for Alice. I mean she was practically dating Jasper now.

"Like I said, Jasper and I always saw each other as brother and sister and nothing more. I'm really glad that he found Alice. He's been really happy since they met. You know he was never interested in anyone at this school until the day he saw her at CPK. I knew right away when I saw the look on his face."

"Oh, so you saw us at CPK that day huh?" He teased. I blushed red.

Damn it. I wasn't supposed to say anything about that. Jasper and I had pretended not to see them that day because we didn't know them at the time.

Did that mean that he noticed us too? I swore he didn't even know who I was until our first day of Biology. Hmmm ….

I decided to play it off as best as I could. "Um, yeah. I mean it's not hard to miss seeing the Edward Cullen with a mystery girl."

He rolled his eyes. "I really hate that column."

For the rest of the time, we chatted more about family and friends or at least I tried to with what little voice I had left. He didn't want me to talk anymore so he ended doing most of the talking while I listened.

It turned out that Alice was actually his cousin but was adopted by his parents when she was very young. Her parents were killed in car crash. I felt so horrible for Alice when he told me that but he assured me that Alice was fine.

He also told me that he had come to see Alice more as his sister rather than his cousin. He went on about stories about them growing up together, which caused me to burst into giggles. Especially the story of when they were ten years old and Alice forced him to dress up as Peter Pan with tights and everything for Halloween just so she could be Tinkerbell. That would've been so cute to see.

He told me that his dad was a famous doctor and his mom was a famous interior decorator. Apparently, she decorated Brangelina's house in Los Angeles. From the stories he told me, it seemed like they were such a close-knit family.

As he kept talking, we heard a knock on the door and a nurse popped her head into the room.

"I'm sorry Edward but visiting hours are over now. She should be released tomorrow around noon. You can come back then." She said as she left to make her rounds.

I looked back at Edward as he cleaned up our food. He put on his blazer and grabbed his book bag. I really didn't want him to leave.

"Well, I'm going to come back and get you tomorrow at noon." He said as he sat closer to me now on the side of the bed.

I shook my head. "No, Edward. You don't need to do that. I'm sure Emmett or Jasper or Rose will come and get me."

"I want to come, Bella." He said firmly.

"No, I don't want to get you sick even though you've been around me all day already. I'll feel bad that I got you sick."

"I got the flu shot a few weeks ago. I'll be fine," he said.

I gave up on arguing. "Fine. I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Good Night Bella," he said.

He started leaning into me. I didn't know what he was doing.

Was he going to hug me? Was he going to kiss me?

I was freaking out. And because of my crazy impulse movements, I threw my arms around his neck pulling him closer to me. I snuggled my face into the crook of his neck breathing in the amazing scent. Then I felt him shift his face toward me as I puckered up my lips for impact.

It was only then that I felt someone shaking me.

"Bella, Bella?" He asked with concern.

I shook my head snapping me out of my crazy and non-stop imagination.

"Are you okay? You looked a little zoned out."

I looked at what I was doing. Thankfully, my hands were at my sides and nowhere near his neck. Phew! Nothing happened. I took a deep breath trying to calm myself down. That would not have been good if I actually did that to him.

"I'm fine. Sorry about that." I said embarrassed.

Why me? Why does my overactive imagination always have to happen at the wrong time?

He probably thinks I'm crazy. I couldn't look at him and I could feel that my face was on fire.

He pushed my chin up to look at him with his fingers as he leaned in again. I stayed still while he shifted closer to me and kissed my forehead. He gave me his crooked smile before giving me a hug and walked out of the room.

"Good Night Edward." I said softly still stunned that his lips actually touched my face!

How long can I go without washing my forehead? Hmmm … I'd have to think about that.

As I heard his footsteps walking down the hall and I knew he was out of range, I squealed in bed. The nurse came running in to check on me but I played it off that it was nothing. She left the room with a knowing smile.

I still felt so giddy inside but I knew that I shouldn't be. He only thinks of me as a friend. Nothing else. I shouldn't be getting my hopes up.

I rolled over in bed lying flat on my back and stared at the ceiling. I sighed frustrated with myself and the entire situation. All I knew was that I felt happy when Edward was around and I felt so comfortable around him. I really liked him a lot. That was probably the understatement of the century.

But I knew this was bad. So very bad. I was setting myself up for disaster. It was an internal struggle that was going on in my mind.

After a few more minutes, I knew I couldn't sleep. I grabbed my iPhone and put in my earbuds. I pushed play not bothering to look at what song it was as I drifted off to sleep.

_I See You Through The Smokey Air_

_Can't You Feel The Weight Of My Stare_

_You're So Close But Still A World Away_

_What I'm Dying To Say, Is That_

_I'm Crazy For You_

_Touch Me Once And You'll Know It's True_

_I Never Wanted Anyone Like This_

_It's All Brand New, You'll Feel It In My Kiss_

_I'm Crazy For You, Crazy For You_

_(Crazy for You – New Found Glory)_

**

* * *

**Edward came around noon to get me from the medical center. He insisted on carrying me back bridal style to the dorms, which I protested but of course he won. I was still weak and tired and burning hot.

I could feel the stares burning holes into me as he walked but he kept talking to me to keep me busy from thinking about the attention it was attracting. I swear I even heard sobs coming from girls as we walked passed people.

He brought me back to my room and I saw that there was flu medicine, water and a plate of saltine crackers on my nightstand. It was probably Rose that left that there for me.

"I got you Nyquil to help you sleep and some crackers to eat in case you get hungry," he said.

Wait. He did this for me?

WOW.

"Thanks Edward," I croaked giving him a big smile. I never had anyone take care of me so much before and I liked it.

I was slightly embarrassed though that he had been in my room when I wasn't there. What if my underwear or bra was lying around. Hopefully, Rose put everything away.

He set me down on my feet. Lunch period was almost over so he gave me a hug as he left to go back to class.

I went to take a shower hoping it would make me feel better but I still felt hot and yucky. I threw on my Victoria Secret Pink navy blue tank top and boy short navy blue underwear and climbed into bed. I didn't want to wear too much clothes because I was still burning hot and sweating.

I took some of the Nyquil and ate the crackers before snuggling under my blankets and drifting off to sleep.

**

* * *

KNOCK KNOCK**

The sound was so soft, I barely heard it.

**KNOCK KNOCK**

I realized it was probably Alice. Edward told me she was going to come by later to check on me. I was too disoriented from the flu medication and from sleeping.

I was sleeping on my side with my back facing the door. I didn't bother opening my eyes but I croaked out, "Come in!"

I heard the footsteps come in. Those were definitely not Alice's footsteps. It sounded heavier like a guy. Probably Emmett or Jasper.

"Bella, how are you feel–?" My eyes flew open when I heard his voice. He stopped talking but I couldn't figure out why.

Then he said quickly, "I'm so sorry! I didn't know."

What was he sorry for? What is he talking about?

I started reaching out to tug on my blanket to make sure it was covering me. I felt around and didn't feel it. I only felt my clothes. What was I wearing? I looked down at my body and jumped.

"GAH!" I screamed as loud as I could. I grabbed my blanket and wrapped it around me while falling off the bed with my ass hitting the floor with a big THUD.

I looked up at him and saw that he had his back toward me.

Oh God! I hoped he didn't see anything. It was dark in the room. I stood up wrapping the blanket around my waist as I switched on the lights.

"Edward, it's okay. I thought you were Alice."

He still had his back turned to me.

"I-I came to check up on y-you and bring you f-food. S-she got caught up working on costumes for Homecoming and couldn't come." He stuttered and ran a hand through his hair.

"It's okay, Edward. You can turn around now." I was sure my face was as red as a tomato but I tried to cool down so that it wasn't so obvious. Hopefully, he would think it was because of the fever.

He slowly turned around trying hard not to look at me. Was I that repulsive? Sheesh.

I knew my hair was messy from sleeping and I probably look like death but did he have to make it so obvious.

He was holding a bag and went to the kitchenette to set it down. He started taking out the food and seemed so jumpy and nervous.

Maybe that was my cue to freshen up.

"I have to use the bathroom real quick." I said while grabbing a pair of sweatpants and running into the bathroom slamming the door shut. I pulled down the blanket and put on the grey sweatpants. I looked in the mirror and realized that I did look hideous.

I looked like I had been hit by lightning. My hair was sticking up everywhere.

I brushed my teeth and calmed down my crazy hair. I took one more glance in the mirror. My face was paler than normal and my eyes were red. My nose was red and I had purple bags under my eyes.

I sighed. One of the hottest guys on earth was in my room and I looked like a corpse. Oh well, it was the best that I could do. I opened the door and saw that my soup was on my nightstand and Edward was sitting in my desk chair.

"How are you feeling?" He asked.

"I'm still tired and weak. I think the fever has gone down a little. I'm not as hot and sweaty anymore."

"Well, that's good." I could see him relax a little bit more from talking. I walked over to my bed and sat down.

"I got all of your assignments for you."

"Thanks, Edward. You really don't have to do that. Emmett or Jasper could've done it for me."

"We have two classes together so it made sense that I help you. Don't worry about it." He said as he handed me the soup.

I realized what he was wearing and saw that he had on grey sweatpants and a white t-shirt. His wild hair was wet and dark and was slightly covering his eyes. He looked so sexy.

_Stop thinking that._ The more I keep thinking I will most likely have a stupid daydream.

"Did you just come from football practice?" I asked.

"Yeah, so I stopped by on my way back to the dorms and got you dinner."

"Thanks again," I said giving him a smile.

He smiled back and started eating his hamburger. I tried to steal some of his fries but he swatted my hand away each time reminding me that you can't eat fried food when you have a sore throat. I pouted at him but it didn't work.

We talked a little about what happened today at school while we finished our dinner.

"Did you want to study a little together? Or did you want to go back to sleep?" He asked.

I didn't want him to leave so soon.

"Let's study. I don't want to fall behind just because I'm sick," I said.

We studied for about an hour when I yawned. I took more flu medication after eating dinner and it was starting to hit me.

"I think I should get going. It looks like the medicine is kicking in and you should go to sleep." He said gathering his books and stuffing them into this book bag.

NO! I wanted to scream out but knew I couldn't. I had to hold myself back as much I could from screaming that out.

"Okay. Thanks for dinner and for coming over to check up on me," I said sleepily.

"I'm glad to do it. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" he said.

I nodded as I jumped into my bed. "Good Night Edward." I said before crawling back under the covers.

"Good Night Bella." He said as he leaned down to kiss my forehead. It seemed so much like a friendly kiss so I gave up trying to get excited about it. He walked out of the room and turned off the lights.

I sighed and wondered …

_What am I going to do?_

_

* * *

_**A/N: Well, what do you think?! I hope you liked the E&B action ... and my husband actually did the whole flu medicine for me during my freshman year of college when I got sick. It was sweet so of course I had to include it in here! **

**Don't worry Edward will grow a pair of balls soon and ask Bella out ... it's just coming in the next few chapters. I just had to have some more drama before that happens! **

**I will update again soon! **

**Please Review!  
**


	16. Clumsy

**A/N: WOW! So I got a record number of reviews from the last update. I'm so excited that I decided to post up this next chapter a day early! Thanks for all your support and I'm glad that you are all enjoying the story! I know I love writing it. It makes me laugh so I hope it continues to make you laugh! **

**This will be an all BPOV story. I know everyone is curious about what Edward thinks but you'll find out soon. I just suck at writing EPOV so I decided this story was best done in all BPOV.**

**I know that everyone enjoyed the E&B interaction from the last chapter and there is more coming up. This chapter is just more fluff and some drama with a new character! Gasp! How could it be? You'll find out soon enough ... read on!  
**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Twilight or Ally McBeal. I do own the storyline and any characters that I make up.**

* * *

**Chapter 16 – Clumsy**

Song – Clumsy by Fergie

* * *

It was Friday today and I was feeling much better. I had been out of school for almost the entire week and I knew I was going to suffer during the weekend to catch up on my homework and projects.

Edward came over everyday when I was sick to bring me dinner and my assignments for each day. It became a normal routine where we would eat dinner, then study together and when I would get tired, he would leave. I hated that part of the night but I was happy to at least be able to see him and spend time with him.

Rose spent the entire week at Emmett's because she was afraid of getting sick and Jasper ended up staying with Alice to avoid any uncomfortable situations that only Rose and Emmett could get into.

I knew that Jasper and Alice were getting closer and closer every day now. I wondered where they were at in their relationship. I wasn't able to talk much to anyone during the week because I would be sleeping all day and then at night I was with Edward the entire time. Of course, they came to visit me but it was only for a few minutes because everyone treated me like I had the plague. No one wanted to get sick being that SAT's and midterms were coming up soon.

I got up and out of bed and dressed for school. I threw on a black skirt and white ruffled collar blouse with my navy blue blazer. I tied a black bowtie and put on black tights and my black flats.

I straightened my hair and put on some light makeup. I grabbed my bag and headed out of the dorms to meet Jasper. He wanted me to meet him at Starbucks to grab breakfast before classes today. He had to talk to me about something. I wasn't sure what it was about but figured he wanted to talk to me about Alice.

There was a football game Saturday night and I was debating whether or not if I should go. I didn't want to get sick again but Edward seemed a little sad when I said I wasn't sure about going. I didn't want to disappoint him. We've gotten to be a lot closer now and we were really starting to become best friends. Of course, I secretly wanted it to be more but I was happy either way.

I got to Starbucks and walked through the door. It wasn't very busy but there were some students lingering around in the lounge chairs. I saw Jasper sitting in the corner and waved to him. He already had my Caramel Macchiato and muffin ready for me when I approached the table.

I sat down opposite from him and he looked on edge. He was shaking his leg up and down and running a hand through his hair.

"Hey Jazz, thanks for the coffee and muffin! What's up? Why are you so nervous? What's going on?" I asked as I took a bite from my muffin and a sip of my coffee.

"Hey Bells. You look a lot better today. How are you feeling?" He asked.

"I'm a lot better. Thanks but stop trying to change the subject. What happened?" I asked.

He shifted his eyes around the room. Another nervous trait of his.

"I … um … don't know how to tell you this," he said anxiously.

I've never really seen Jasper this nervous before. He was really starting to scare me.

Was it Emmett? Was it Rose? Was it his parents? Was it my parents?

A million questions ran through my mind trying to consider what he was so nervous about. He kept fidgeting with his hands. He was shaking his leg up and down. There were purple bags under his eyes and he looked extremely tired. And then it dawned on me.

"Jasper! Are you doing drugs?!" I scolded under my breath so that no one could hear me.

His eyes widened. "NO! Bells! Are you demented?! Why would you think that?" He whispered yelled at me.

Oh phew!

"I don't know. You're all jumpy and you've been hanging out with Alice a lot and you know how perky and excited she always is. What if she was doing something and she got you into it?" I said shrugging my shoulders.

"You think Alice is doing drugs? Are you delusional?" He hissed at me.

"Well, she is always so hyper. Haven't you ever wondered?" I had to put it out there. She was always overly hyper and excited. You never know.

"NO! Bella! She is not doing drugs and I'm not doing drugs. Alice is just hyperactive." He said firmly.

"Oh okay then, why are you so edgy? It's starting to freak me out. What is it?"

"Okay, but you have to promise first that you won't get mad."

"Okay, I promise."

"You know about Homecoming, right?"

I nodded my head and sighed in relief. Oh, this was about school. Not someone I know. Thank God!

"Well, I was actually wondering if I could go with Alice. I know that we had agreed to go together but Alice and I are together now."

I clapped my hands together and squealed. "Really?! You mean boyfriend and girlfriend together?"

He nodded his head and gave me the biggest smile. I've never seen him this happy before.

"I'm so happy for you! You finally found someone and you two are so perfect for each other!" I said while reaching over and giving him a hug. After I let go and sat back down in my chair, he looked at me with concern in his eyes.

"So you are okay with me going with Alice to the dances?" He asked.

"Yeah, sure. Why would I have a problem with it?"

"Well, that means that you're left without a date."

Oh yeah … I didn't think about that.

**YIKES! **

Panic started to hit me. Jasper was my excuse to avoid having to deal with crazy boys like Mike Newton. What was I going to do now?

He sensed that I was getting nervous and quickly put his hand on my shoulder to calm me down.

"But I already talked to Alice about it and she has a date for you."

"What? A date for me? Who?" I asked starting to get more edgy by the minute. I did not want to be setup on a blind date to Homecoming where we would be forced to dance for a grade for gym. This was just not going good at all.

"I'm not sure. She didn't tell me but she had a date to the dance already too and said that we can switch."

"Are you sure her date is okay with that? What if he's someone like Mike?"

"Do you really think that Alice would go to the dance with someone like Mike?"

"No, but you never know."

"Don't worry about it. Alice said she was going to call you after breakfast. She'll probably be able to give you more details."

"Okay, fine. Geez, was that all? You scared the hell out of me. I've never seen you that nervous before. You almost gave me a heart attack." I said while giving him a slap on the arm.

"Ow! I was nervous because I know that you hate dances and I didn't want you to freak out about having to go alone or with someone that you can't stand." He said while rubbing his arm where I slapped him.

"Well, at least I have a date. Don't worry about it. I'll be fine."

He winced. I knew he felt bad for abandoning me but I couldn't be in the way if he wanted to go to with Alice. They were together now. I had to play it off that I was fine for the sake of making Jasper happy. I was definitely antsy though to figure out who my date would be. I wanted to finish this breakfast and call Alice as soon as possible.

After we finished our coffee and muffins and caught up with each other, we left to go to class. I had about a good ten minutes until my first class started so now was a good time to call Alice. Right when I took out my phone, it started to ring with Alice's name flashing on the caller ID.

"Alice?" I said into the phone while walking toward my Econ class.

"Hey Bells! Did Jazzy tell you about Homecoming? Are you okay with it?" She asked with concern.

"Oh yeah, of course! He told me that you two are together now. I'm so happy for you both! I've never seen him this happy before." I beamed.

"Thanks Bells. I've never been this happy either. He's like my soulmate." She said dreamily.

Soulmate huh? WOW.

"And don't worry. I have Homecoming all take care of." She said confidently.

"Are you going to tell me who I'm going with? Are you sure they are okay with this? I know I'm fine with it but what if he takes one look at me and runs away screaming like he just saw an ogre."

"That is NOT going to happen, ISABELLA! You've been watching _Shrek_ way too many times. You really need to stop. And don't worry you'll find out at Homecoming who your date will be."

I froze and stopped walking.

".GOD. You don't have anyone do you? You're still looking that's why you can't tell me." I started to freak out.

_How was she going to find me a date with Homecoming being only two weeks away? _

"Calm down. Breathe, Bella. I told you that I have it all taken care of so stop worrying and freaking out. Now have faith in your friend and stop hyperventilating."

I took a few deep breaths and then started walking to class again. Alice kept chatting about Homecoming and our dresses so I started to zone out. I looked around and saw Edward a few yards away talking to Scott and Steve. They were headed toward their class. I kept staring at him as he walked away.

God, I'm so pathetic. I'm ogling a guy who has become one of my closest friends and that I know I can't have. I'm such a sad case.

I continued staring at him while I walked to class holding my cell phone to my ear as Alice kept talking. Then …

**BAM!**

"OW!" I yelled as I slammed hard into the brick wall of the school building and fell hard on my ass. That snapped me out of my thoughts and staring.

My phone fell out of my hand and I could hear Alice screaming into the phone.

"Bella, are you okay?! Bella?!"

I scrambled to stand up and pick up my things. I hoped no one saw that. Luckily, there was no one around. I was sure my face was bright red.

I picked up the phone with one hand while rubbing my forehead with the other. That was going to leave a mark.

"Yeah, Alice. I'm here," I said.

"What happened?"

I couldn't tell her that I was ogling her brother and walked right into a wall.

"I ran into a wall?" It sounded more like a question than an answer.

"How could you just run into a wall? Are you not watching where you are going?"

"You can say that. Listen, I have to go. My class is starting soon. I'll see you later." I said quickly hoping that she wouldn't ask me any more questions about my wall incident.

"Don't forget we're going to TGI Friday's tonight for the pre-game dinner with everyone. See you later Bells!"

"Okay, see you." I said quickly and hung up as I walked toward first period.

This was going to be a long day. And I forgot that we were all going out to dinner with the entire football team and all the cheerleaders for their pre-game dinner. That should be interesting.

**

* * *

**

It was lunch time now and we were all headed to the cafeteria. As I grabbed my food and headed toward the lunch table, I heard a female adult voice come over the loud speakers.

"Attention students! We will now announce the Homecoming nominees for this year's Homecoming King and Queen."

I rolled my eyes while sitting down in my seat. The entire food court went silent waiting to hear the nominees. Every time there was a dance, it was always the most important part of the dance to know who the King and Queen would be. It was like some sort of stupid ritual and everyone wanted to be King and Queen. Even though, Edward won almost every time at almost every dance.

Edward plopped down next to me on the right and Alice sat on my left. Emmett, Jasper and Rose were at the table as well.

"This year's nominees for Homecoming King are Edward Cullen, Jasper Hale, Emmett Swan, Jack Taylor, and Mark Welch."

The entire food court erupted into whispers and claps. Emmett stood up from our table bowing and saying "Thank you!" as if everyone were his royal subjects. I rolled my eyes at him.

Edward gave a charming smile and looked back down at his food. I guess he really didn't like the attention.

Jasper looked shocked even though Emmett was pounding hard onto his back. Mark and Jack gave each other hi-fives.

"This year's nominees for Homecoming Queen are Alice Cullen, Rosalie Hale, Lauren Mallory, Stacy Perkins and Isabella Swan. Don't forget to vote!"

There were wolf whistles in the crowd. I beamed happily at Rose and Alice. But then I saw everyone staring and smiling at me and Emmett patted me on the back.

What was going on?

I scrunched up my face into confusion.

"Why are you all looking at me like that?"

"Bella, did you not hear them say your name?" Alice asked.

"Say my name for what?"

"For Homecoming Queen, DUH!" Rose said.

I jumped out of my seat. "WHAT?!" I yelled.

A few heads turned to look at me as I blushed red. I slowly sat back down and hissed. "What?!"

"You were nominated for Homecoming Queen, silly!" Alice chirped.

I froze. Me? Nominated for Homecoming Queen? ME? What the?!

"Ow!" I yelled as I felt a hard pinch on my left arm.

"Good, she's okay now." Jasper said sitting back down in his seat.

Alice and Edward looked at him curiously wondering what the hell that was all about. Emmett and Rose were used to it by now so they just rolled their eyes.

"Breathe, Bella. Breathe." Edward said to me trying to calm me down while rubbing circles on my back.

I slowly started taking deep breaths.

"Me? Are you sure there wasn't a mistake? How could I be nominated?" I said.

Alice and Edward looked at me like I was crazy. Rose smirked and crossed her arms against her chest. Emmett and Jasper smiled at me.

"Bella, stop it. You were nominated and that's final! There was no mistake and you should be happy so stop acting like it's the end of the world!" Alice demanded.

I kept quiet the rest of the time during lunch. Edward asked me if I was okay but I was nervous and he could tell. He tried making me feel better by talking to me about different things and trying to make me laugh.

But all I could think about was Homecoming. For the past three years, I didn't care about this stupid dance and now it was like the bane of my existence.

It would be my first school dance for a grade and here I was nominated as Homecoming Queen. I gulped. Not that I need anything more to be more nervous about the day of the dance. I'm already a nervous wreck!

And that wasn't all. I could feel the burning stares coming from Lauren Mallory and her friends.

YIKES!

**

* * *

**

It was time for dinner. I had no idea what to wear but I was told that it had to be school spirited. So I threw on my jean capris and tight grey school logo t-shirt. I grabbed my navy blue school sweatshirt and put on my white flats. I curled my hair and put it up in a ponytail.

I looked in the mirror and saw a small bruise forming on my forehead where I hit my head earlier today. Luckily, my bangs covered it.

Rose had finally come back to the room again muttering that she had to Lysol everything to get rid of germs. She was dressed in a jean skirt and a white school tank top.

We were supposed to meet everyone outside. So I grabbed my wallet, stuffed it in my pocket and headed out the door with Rose.

We stepped outside and saw Edward, Emmett, Jasper and Alice waiting for us. We walked together toward TGI Friday's. Of course, all the couples paired off leaving me and Edward to walk next to each other.

We chatted about the game tomorrow. Apparently, tomorrow's game was against our biggest rival, Green View Prep. There was some beef between the two teams. The last time there was a game a fight erupted and players were suspended on both teams.

As we reached the restaurant, I saw that it was packed. It was full of jocks, cheerleaders and a ton of other people. As we made it inside, Edward grabbed onto my arm weaving us through the crowd.

I looked around and actually saw people wearing Team Beck and Team Edella shirts.

Are you freaking serious? Someone already made shirts!!

I was horrified. I had to find out who made those damn shirts.

We finally got to a huge table that had all of our friends sitting around. Jenny was sitting on Steve's lap as they were giggling and talking with Garrett and Kate. Scott and Brian were focused on watching the game on TV as Jack and Mark were talking. As we approached the table, Edward let go of my arm.

I could see Jack looking at us with a hint of sadness in his eyes. I noticed that him and Edward were barely speaking to each other and I had a big feeling it was because of me. They were supposed to be good friends. And Jack avoided me today and probably would have all week if I wasn't sick. I had to talk to him to straighten things out. We were supposed to be friends and I didn't want him to think something different from that stupid article on Monday. And I was sure as hell not going to be the reason why him and Edward are on the outs.

I grabbed a seat next to Alice who sat down next to Jasper. I could feel someone sit down next to me and looked to see that it was Edward.

After ordering our food, we started chatting with everyone. It seemed like everyone was pumped up about the game tomorrow. I looked over at Jack and he seemed quiet. He wasn't normally this quiet. He just seemed uncomfortable.

I got up and excused myself to go to the restroom. As I came out of the restroom, I saw Jack going toward the men's restroom. It was now or never. I had to talk to him to clear up everything.

I tugged on his arm as he passed me. He stopped walking and looked down at me.

"Hey," I said.

"Hey," he said back sullenly.

"I know you've been avoiding me but I really need to talk to you." I said.

He shoved his hands into his pockets and shrugged his shoulders. "What about?"

"Well, first of all it's Tanya's stupid article that printed on Monday. I didn't go on a date with Edward last week. We just bumped into each other at the mall. I don't want you think that I'm like Lauren and her clique. I would never date two guys in one week." I said.

I don't even know why I felt like explaining myself to him but I didn't want him to think that I went on a date with Edward on Wednesday and then a date with him on Saturday. That was just crazy.

I could sense that he felt more relaxed.

"Don't worry Bella. You don't have to explain yourself to me."

"No, I do. You're my friend and that is what friends do. I don't want you to think that way about me."

"I don't think that way about you but I'm glad that you explained it to me because I was confused."

"Aha! I knew it!" I said.

He threw me a soft smile. "And all this Team Beck and Team Edella stuff is just ridiculous! I'm so sorry about all of this!"

He waved his hand dismissing it. "It's not your fault, Bella. Tanya always writes crazy things. And just so you know, I'm on Team Edella."

My mouth practically hit the floor. WHAT?! He was rooting for me and Edward to be together? I was really confused.

I think he noticed my expression so he spoke again. "I see the way you both look at each other. I was blind not to have noticed that before I had asked you out on a date. I think Edward was a little upset with me about that." He chuckled.

Now I was really confused. What?

He quickly added. "I mean not that I didn't like you. I did. I mean I still do but I realized that we're probably better off as friends." His face flushed pink. I guess he still wasn't over his crush or whatever it was for me.

Would he ever get over it? I mean, I can't get over it with Edward. Does that mean that he can't get over it with me either? UGH! I felt horrible because I knew exactly what he was going through. I went through it for the past three years and only now the feelings have been amplified times a thousand. I wasn't sure how strongly Jack felt toward me but I hoped that he would get over it.

"Friends." I said with a smile. "And I'm not sure what's going on with you and Edward but I really hope that you two aren't throwing away your bromance over something stupid."

He laughed and gave me a comforting smile. "It's definitely not something stupid but don't worry about us. We have our disagreements at times but we'll be fine."

"So are you okay now? You didn't seem like yourself earlier."

"So you noticed, eh? It'll take some time but I'll be fine." He said with a weak smile.

I bit my lip. I felt bad knowing that I was the one causing him to act different.

"I'm really sorry." I didn't know what else to say. I mean I would tell him that I knew exactly how he felt but I'm sure he wasn't looking for a pity party.

"You don't have to apologize. It's me. Not you. Don't worry about it." He said giving me a reassuring smile.

I stepped in and gave him a friendly hug and felt that he returned it. It was the only thing I could think of that could possibly make him feel better. I knew that I would want to be comforted if I wasn't feeling too well.

"Okay then. I'll see you back at the table." I said as I turned and started walking back toward the table. He nodded in agreement and headed into the restrooms.

As I headed back to the table, I felt someone grab my arm firmly.

"Ow!" I yelled.

I turned to look at who it was. It was a huge guy who looked Native American. He had long black hair tied into a ponytail and creepy brown eyes. He was with a bunch of friends who all looked huge and dominating. I had never seen them before and wondered who they were. I don't think they went to RCP.

"Hey, Babe … what's your name?" He said trying to flirt.

I rolled my eyes at him and yanked my arm out of his grasp. I could feel my blood boil. "My name is not Babe!" I yelled. I could feel the anger rising.

"Oooh, feisty, eh? I like feisty girls. What's your name?"

"None of your business, jerk!" I spat trying to walk back to my table.

He grabbed my arm harder this time swinging me around and gave me a menacingly look.

"LET HER GO, BLACK!" I heard someone yell. The entire restaurant fell silent.

I turned to my left and saw Edward standing there with his eyes narrowed full of rage, his jaw clenched and his fists tightened. I've never seen him this angry before. If looks could kill that would be it.

Jasper, Garrett, Brian, Mark and Steve were standing by his side and I saw that Scott was holding Emmett back from lunging at the guy. I saw Jack walk up to us and stood there glaring at the guy as well.

The guy let go of my arm and stood up along with his friends. I rubbed my wrist knowing that it was going to bruise. I was stuck in the middle with everyone towering over my petite frame.

"DON'T TOUCH HER EVER AGAIN, BLACK!" Emmett boomed while Scott tried desperately to hold him back.

I saw that Rose, Alice, Kate and Jenny were behind the guys looking scared. Was a fight going to happen? I'm stuck right in the middle. I knew I could protect myself if I needed to but I didn't want anyone fighting over me.

"Well, well … It looks like I found the key to everyone's weakness. Who is she?" The guy taunted.

"NONE OF YOUR DAMN BUSINESS! DO YOU WANT A REPEAT OF WHAT HAPPENED AT LAST YEAR'S GAME?" Edward yelled with fury.

So that explains why everyone is so mad. This was the rival football team.

I could feel Edward trying to lunge toward this Black guy as the Black guy was doing the same toward Edward.

Edward was trying to push me behind him but I stood firm trying to hold both sides down. They wouldn't try anything if a girl was standing here, right?

"WE CAN REPEAT WHAT HAPPENED RIGHT HERE!" The Black guy yelled rolling up his sleeves.

Both sides were staring each other down with death glares. Whatever beef they had must've been really bad but I was pissed. This guy was going to get what was coming to him.

"STOP!" I yelled as all eyes focused on me and everyone stopped talking.

I turned to the Black guy and shouted. "You are the biggest asshat on this planet! And don't you dare think that you can treat women rudely and grab them whenever you want. You need to learn how to respect women." I lashed out at him while I kicked his twig and berries with as much strength as I could invoke. He tumbled over with tears in his eyes while his friends all yelled, "OW!" for him and grabbed their own crotch areas to protect their goods.

I turned around to face my friends and all of them looked at me with their mouths dropped open in shock. I could hear the entire restaurant erupt in laughter and cheers.

Edward looked completely surprised at what I just did and almost proud? I wasn't sure. He seemed calmer now and not so angry. That was a good sign. I was afraid that he was going to rip the guy's head off.

Then Emmett boomed with laughter. "That's my squirt!" as he ruffled my bangs with his hand.

I saw the Black guy was still huddled over with tears in his eyes grabbing his crotch. His friends reach down to grab him.

"Th-this isn't over!" He tried to yell out while his friends picked him up and dragged him out of the restaurant.

WOW, did that just happen? Well, I knew I had a bad temper but that guy pushed me to the edge.

As the laughter and cheers died down, all the guys enveloped in a hug.

"Guys! I need air!" I said.

Emmett scooped me up cave man style and brought me back to our table. He set me down and patted my head.

"I'm so proud of you! I guess I don't need to protect you after all." He beamed.

Jasper gave me a concerned look and I gave him a reassuring smile that I was fine.

Edward sat back down next to me with concern in his eyes but I could tell he was trying to suppress his laughter at the situation. "Are you okay?"

I rubbed my wrist and arm while shrugging my shoulders. "I'll be fine. I just hate when people make me mad."

He laughed and put his hands up like he was surrendering. "I know never to get on your bad side!"

Alice wrapped her arms around my neck. "That was so awesome, Bella! WOW!"

"Who knew you had it in you!" Jenny said. Kate and Rose looked at me with huge smiles.

"I learn from the best!" I said while beaming at Rose.

I did learn that move from her. She taught it to me right before I went to high school saying that if I ever needed it I needed to know how to protect myself.

Emmett turned to Rose in shock and said, "Rosie, I didn't know that you taught Bella that. That's a real turn on!" He wriggled his eyebrows at her.

"Ugh! Emmett!" We all yelled. Then the entire table erupted in laughter.

"Did you see his face?!" Scott said.

"That was priceless!" Mark replied.

"Who knew that little Bella Swan could take down Jacob Black!" Brian said.

I turned red and saw that everyone at our table was still laughing with tears in their eyes.

"Who was that jerk off anyways?" I asked once the table calmed down.

"You just took out, Jacob Black, the Green View Prep Linebacker and Captain of their football team." Steve said with a smug smile.

Not that I even know what position that was but he was the captain of the rival team? Oh wow. Well, someone needs to teach him a lesson.

"Well, I hope you take them out tomorrow! Him and his friends deserve a good beating!" I said.

"Don't worry. He'll get what he deserves." Edward said.

"What happened last year?" Rose asked. I could sense that all the guys tensed up.

Jack spoke first. "Jacob Black is known to be a horrible person. He's just arrogant and rude. And the Green View team tends to play dirty."

"What do you mean by dirty?" Alice asked.

"They try to cheat. That's what happened last year. We caught them cheating and when we brought it up a fight broke out." Scott said.

"Most of the players on the team got suspended on both sides for fighting." Edward said.

"Every year it's always been war with that team. That's why this is the biggest game of the season." Mark said.

Just as Mark finished talking, Lauren and her group of minions walked over to our table swaying their hips. I could feel Edward tense up again next to me.

"Hey, Guys … I just wanted to say good luck at the game." She tried to say while batting her eyes at everyone. "I'll be cheering for you."

The girls and I looked at each other and rolled our eyes.

"Isn't that what you're supposed to do as a cheerleader?" Brian said while rolling his eyes at her.

"You get the point," she sneered at him but gave a big smile to Edward, Emmett and Jack.

Then she eyed me and Rose and threw us a death glare right before turning around and walking away.

"Ugh, I can't stand her!" Rose hissed under her breath.

"Don't worry about her. She's just annoying as hell!" Jenny said as the entire table agreed.

After no more rude interruptions, the rest of the night was fun. Edward tried to explain football to me as we watched the TV screen but I was still confused. I guess I looked funny because he kept laughing at me the entire time.

When it was time to leave, we all headed back to the dorms. Edward walked back next to me as we laughed and chatted happily.

Then I heard a song playing faintly from one of the dorm rooms as we walked by.

_First time_

_That I saw your eyes_

_Boy you looked right through me, mmmhmm_

_Play it cool_

_But I knew you knew_

_That cupid hit me, mmm mmm_

It was then that I was completely in awe of the Greek God standing next to me. It seemed so surreal. It had only been four weeks now and our friendship went from non-existent to being close friends. And my crush went from being on a scale of one to ten to jumping on a scale of one to a thousand and the line almost crossing a thousand as each day passed.

_You got me trippin, stumbling, flippin, fumbling_

_Clumsy cuz I'm fallin in love_

_You got me slippin, tumbling, sinking, fumbling_

_Clumsy cuz I'm fallin in love_

_So in love with you_

_(Clumsy – Fergie)_

I felt like I was in a long dream that I never wanted to wake up from. As I laughed at something he said, I felt my legs go out from underneath me. I could see the floor getting closer to my face but then felt two strong arms pull me up.

"Are you okay?"

Before I could respond his eyes widened while he stared at my forehead. "What happened to your forehead?"

I gasped silently as I felt my cheeks burn. I didn't think anyone would notice it. I pushed my bangs down to cover the bump. "Thanks. I'm fine. I just hit my head today. It's nothing."

I prayed hoping that he wouldn't ask me more about it. I would definitely not be able to explain that one to him.

He looked at me with concern and then set me back down on my feet and let me go. I straightened out my clothes and looked back to see what I tripped on and there was nothing.

I just stumbled on thin air.

Grrreaaat! Now I was really going crazy.

* * *

**A/N: A few notes from this chapter since a lot happens.**

**First of all, I'm not a Jacob fan so that was why I made him into the sort of male enemy of the story. Sorry for those of you who like Jacob ... and please don't flame me for it! There will be lots of laughs along the way. He won't do anything crazy to Bella so don't worry about that. Remember, my story is all about being fun, cute and funny!**

**As for the Edward in this story. He is a different Edward than most in other stories. He's not conceited and not cocky or arrogant. He's popular, caring, sweet, smart, has mood swings here and there but he's charming and the all-around perfect guy. I know there isn't anyone out there like him but keep in mind that this is in BPOV so she seems him as being the perfect prince charming. And I know we all wish we had someone like him! **

**And the Bella in this story is not normally clumsy. She just happens to tend to get lost in her day dreams hurting herself and being scattered brained more than anything. So that was why I never touched on her being clumsy before until now. I thought this song fit so well with her feelings. And I hope that the whole Jacob incident wasn't too OOC from my story. I did want to show the side of Bella that has a temper. She is Emmett's sister and needs to bust that out eventually!**

**And poor Jack! I mean he has a crush on our Bells but she doesn't feel the same but she sympathizes with him because she's in the same situation with Edward or so she thinks. Don't worry, Jack will get his happy ending just not with our Bells! **

**And I won't be going into details about A&J since this is mainly an E&B story. But I hope this chapter satisfied that need for some of you! At least they are together now and going to Homecoming, so who is Bella going to go with? Hmmmm ... should I be evil or good? My devil and angel are still weighing their options. Homecoming won't be for a few more chapters away. More fun stuff happens in between then. **

**Next chapter will be the football game and really really good E&B stuff! Edward finally grows some balls *HINT HINT*! It's actually one of my favorite chapters with E&B! **

**Please Review and Thanks for Reading!! **


	17. Shake It

**A/N: You are all so awesome with the reviews! Thanks to all those that added this to your alerts and reviewed! And thanks for reading this! **

**So I got more questions about EPOV ... I've been thinking about this more. I might do a companion piece to this and have Edward's POV on all the chapters that I've done so far in BPOV but of course the EPOV will be much shorter since he doesn't daydream. Or I could even do this as a sequel piece and redo the whole story in EPOV. I'm still deciding but what do you think? I am warning you though that I'm not the greatest at EPOV, hence the reason why I doing this all in BPOV. I tend to sound more feminine than masculine. **

**So this is the chapter we have all been waiting for. It is slightly fluffy but I hope you like it! It's one of my favorite chapters so far. Read on! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Twilight or Ally McBeal. I do own the storyline and any characters that I make up.**

* * *

**Chapter 17 – Shake It**

Song – Shake It by Metro Station

* * *

"Alice! I am NOT wearing this to the game!" I hissed through the door. I was in the bathroom wearing the outfit that she picked out for me. It wasn't an outfit. It was more like scraps of fabric.

"You're wearing it Bella! Hurry up! Or we'll be late!" Alice yelled back.

I flung the door open to see Jasper and Alice sitting on my bed and Rose sitting on her bed. I stomped out of the bathroom and put my hands on my hips.

"There is no way in hell that I am wearing this or I'm not going to the game!" I yelled.

All three of them had their eyes bulged out of their heads. Rose whistled and Jasper looked away embarrassed while Alice had her eyes huge and wide with amazement.

"Bella! You look great!" She squealed while clapping her hands together.

"I look like I'm wearing some sort of skanky Halloween costume! I am not wearing this!" I yelled.

I was wearing Edward's jersey that was super tight. I don't even know how Alice got it to fit so tightly on me. It was cropped showing my stomach and cut low around the neckline showing a lot of cleavage. It barely covered anything and I swear it was see-through. I also had on a white mini skirt that was so short it barely covered my butt cheeks.

"Please Bella! Edward is going to die when he sees you in this!" Alice pleaded.

"I don't want him to die! And no one is going to see me in this ever. I'm changing." I said firmly putting my foot down.

I saw Alice's face fall but she got serious and stern.

"Fine, let's compromise. You have to wear the skirt or shirt. Pick one now!" Alice ordered.

I hesitated for a little and I didn't want to argue with the damn pixie any more. We were going to be late. "I'll wear the skirt. There is no way I'm wearing this shirt ever." I said.

I grabbed Emmett's jersey and went back to the bathroom to change. I felt better but the skirt was still so short.

I came out of the bathroom putting on my white flats and grabbed my white purse as we headed out. I left my hair down as Alice curled it at the ends. It was going to be cold and I didn't want to risk getting sick again. I had to plead with Alice to let me bring my navy blue hoodie with me since she wouldn't let me wear my long-sleeved white shirt under the jersey.

We headed to the stadium and saw that it was filled. We grabbed our seats just as the announcements were starting.

"Welcome to the Ridge Crest Prep Lions vs. Green View Prep Wolves football game. The biggest game of the season!" The announcer's voice boomed across the stadium as cheers and roars erupted.

Our side was covered with blue and yellow again like the last game while the other side of the stadium was orange and black.

As the announcer called out the lineup and announced that stupid Jacob Black name I booed along with the other half of our side of the stadium.

Once the announcer was done with both teams, they huddled up. Emmett looked ever more serious than the last game. I could see Edward and the rest of the guys put on their game faces. They must've taken this game a lot more seriously than others.

As they ran out to take their positions on the field, the captains had to shake hands before the game could start. Emmett and Jacob looked like they were exchanging words. And it didn't look friendly at all. I could see Emmett lunging at Jacob while Scott grabbed hold of him. Then Edward and Jack rushed up to Jacob as well just as Mark and Steve held them back.

"What's going on?" Rose asked.

"I was thinking the same thing." I said.

Whispers and murmurs filled the stadium as everyone was wondering what they were arguing about. Then Jacob turned to look in our direction and laughed.

Was he laughing at me? That ass!

I flipped him a bird and saw him frown at me while our football team laughed.

"Good job, Bells!" Rose beamed at me while Jasper and Alice snorted.

Eventually the coaches rushed out there and broke up the little pow wow and the game started with no hand shake between the captains.

This game seemed a lot rougher than the last one. It was like they were just tackling each other just because they wanted to. It was the second quarter already and there was still five minutes until half time.

I still didn't really understand the game but I tried to pay as much attention as I could. And by that meaning I was watching Edward the entire time. I was completely awestruck.

He moved swiftly and quickly. He always seemed so much faster than everyone else. Just as a play was about to be made, both sides started taking off their helmets and pushing each other. I wasn't sure what was happening but I heard gasps in the crowd. The LCD screen zoomed in closer and everyone was yelling at each other on the field. We were still too far away to hear anything so I had no idea what they are arguing about.

"Uh, Oh. This doesn't look good." Rose said standing up to get a better view.

Everyone else in the stadium stood up to watch as well and I followed the crowd.

I knew that as soon as someone swung a fist, this would go bad fast. I saw the coaches rushing out onto the field hoping to break up the argument.

Then it happened.

It all happened so quickly. Both sides started fighting. Full out fist fights. All of the benched team players ran out on the field to help as the coaches and referees tried to break up the fight.

I could see that Rose was worried for Emmett. Not that she should be. I was sure he could take on everyone down there by himself.

Then my stomach started tying into knots and I knew who I was worried for. I kept trying to scan the field to find him in the big mess of players and would see his number occasionally. I couldn't tell who he was hitting but I was hoping he wasn't getting hurt. I bit my lip with nervousness as Alice grabbed my hand. I looked at her and saw that she was just as worried as I was for Edward.

Both sides of the stadium started cheering for their teams to fight. I rolled my eyes.

_Why do people love watching fights? Is it really that entertaining? _

I mean it's a bunch of boys getting dirty and rough with each other on the field. Sweat flying everywhere and muscles tensing up and flexing. Okay … maybe it was more entertaining than I thought …

After a few minutes, the fight got broken up and there was a long time out. I could see our team walking back to their benches and looked at Edward. He didn't look hurt from what I could see. He just looked really pissed off.

I wonder what happened down there.

After glancing at our team and the other team, our team definitely looked in better shape after the fight.

As they finished out the rest of the quarter, it was already half time. The score was 7-0 with us leading. The entire stadium was buzzing about what caused the fight and what was going on. Alice and Jasper went to get food as Rose and I sat waiting for them.

"What do you think they were fighting about?" I asked.

"I have no idea. It's nothing new though. Fights happen all the time." Rose said matter-of-factly.

"Really? Do you always worry for Emmett then?"

"Yeah, because you never know what might happen but what can you do. Boys will be boys. It's in their nature to fight."

Just then, Alice and Jasper came back with popcorn, nachos, drinks and candy. We all dug in.

"Everyone's saying that the fight had to do with yesterday's confrontation!" Alice said.

"What?! Are you serious?" I yelled.

"Apparently, Jacob Black still has his eye on you and it pissed everyone off." She replied as if it was no big deal.

_Are you freaking kidding me? _

"WHAT?! They were fighting because of me?! Oh no, this is not good. This is not good at all." I said shaking my head.

"Bella, Come on! Don't you love it that guys are fighting for your honor?!" Alice squealed.

"Are you insane?! I don't want them to fight! What if someone gets hurt?!"

Then she was quiet. I mean someone could seriously get hurt. The game started again with both teams coming out of the locker rooms.

The rest of the game was extremely tense. We ended up being tied 7-7 going into the fourth quarter. Everyone was on the edge of their seats.

It was now down to the last minute of the fourth quarter. The play went and Edward had possession of the ball. My palms started to sweat just from watching all this unfold.

He ran as fast as he could toward the end zone with only 5 seconds left. Players from the other team were trailing behind him. Jacob was closing in. 5, 4, 3, 2 and he made it! He scored just as the buzzer went off for the end of the quarter.

A thunderous roar of cheers erupted on our side of the stadium as I saw the entire team run up to him. We all stood up cheering. He pointed toward our direction and winked. I wasn't sure who it was directed to. Probably Alice but I was sure that I had the biggest smile on my face.

As we left the stadium, we stood outside the locker room waiting for the guys to come out. The guys slowly started to come out after taking their showers. I anxiously waited for Edward. I wanted to see if he was actually hurt from the fighting. I scanned the guys as they came out and examined their faces. It didn't look too bad. Mark had a scratch on his cheek. Brian had a scratch on his neck. Jack had scratch on his chin.

Steve had a slight mark above his eyebrow. Jenny ran up to him and immediately started examining the mark.

Emmett and Scott came out with no marks, which wasn't surprising since they were the two biggest guys on the team. Rose jumped into Emmett's arms happy that he was okay.

And then I saw Edward and I froze. Our eyes locked and I saw that his bottom lip was swollen and bleeding. I didn't know what was happening next but I could feel my legs take off running toward him pushing my way past his fan club that was blocking me.

I got to where he was and was pushed up against him because of the crowd that was around him.

"Are you okay?" I could barely mutter out. I felt like tears were stinging my eyes because I hated seeing him hurt and in pain. Before I even knew what I was doing. I reached up to touch his lip. He winced slightly at the pain. He grabbed my arms and pushed me past the crowd to an open area.

"I'm fine." He said giving me a soft smile. I looked into his deep green eyes and saw that there was worry and concern.

What was he worried about? I'm the one that should be worried.

Eventually, his fan club dispersed getting the idea that he wanted to be left alone. Alice and Jasper came over to where we were. I saw Alice run into Edward's arms, hugging him.

Emmett came over and patted Edward on the back. "He gave Jacob a good black eye! Way to go Ed!"

Edward rolled his eyes at the nickname. He had told me that he didn't like any nicknames and only liked to be called Edward.

"Are you suspended for fighting?" I asked as I realized now that the whole group was crowded around us.

"We'll see what coach says. We're having a meeting tomorrow 'due to our behaviour today during the game'." Emmett said while mocking their coach's voice.

"What happened anyways?" Rose asked.

"It was nothing." Edward said abruptly before anyone else could answer.

"Yeah, right it was nothing. What the hell happened?" Alice demanded.

"It was just Jacob being classic Jacob." Jack answered.

I could see the guys all giving each other knowing glances like they were communicating something without talking. I wonder what it was about.

"Well, we'll for sure scare him so I doubt he's ever going to bother us again." Scott said slyly.

"What did you do?" Jenny asked.

"You'll find out soon enough," Brian said smugly.

Just then we heard screams coming from the opponent team's locker room. We all looked toward the screams and saw the entire Green View Prep team running out of the locker room with only their towels wrapped around their waists. They still looked like they were in the process of taking their showers. Soap was still dripping down their bodies and water was everywhere. Jacob was screaming the loudest and flapping his arms around. I saw the black eye that Edward gave him. Yes! He deserved it!

I noticed that the entire team was flailing their arms in the air protecting their faces.

_What was going on? _

Just then we saw a ton of bats flying out of the locker room.

_BATS! Are you serious? _

I pinched myself to make sure that I wasn't dreaming. Edward threw me a curious look and laughed.

Then I heard everyone else breaking into laughter at the Green View team. Just then, the Green View team turned toward our direction.

"Quick! Break!" Emmett yelled as everyone ran in opposite directions to avoid getting caught. I had no idea what was going on since everyone was running in different directions as chaos broke out. I was getting pushed around in different directions but I felt someone grab onto my hand pulling me. The electric tingles shot up through my arm and I knew instantly who it was that grabbed me.

I ran as fast as I could behind Edward and ended up by the mall.

As we slowed down, I tried to gasp for air. Alice, Jasper, Rose and Emmett met up with us as we all tried to regain our breathing.

I looked up and saw everyone staring at us with grins on their faces. What were they staring at?

I looked down and saw that Edward and my hands were still intertwined. I silently jumped for joy. Edward looked confused too but then he looked down at our hands and slowly let go while looking down at his feet. I could feel my face fall slightly but I tried to cover it up.

I was still trying to catch my breath so luckily, the pink in my cheeks covered my blush. "H-how did you get bats?" I heaved.

"We have connections." Edward said as he laughed.

"And they are not just any type of bats, those are vampire bats!" Emmett said proudly.

"Yeah, we found out that Jacob was deathly afraid of them!" Edward beamed.

We all laughed.

"So are we all going to Johnny Rockets tonight and meeting up with the rest of the team?" Emmett asked.

Everyone nodded and then looked at me. I was the only one that didn't respond. I looked down at my feet. I wasn't feeling 100% yet and didn't feel like staying out late again.

"I actually wanted to get some ice cream and then head back to the dorms. I'm still not feeling the best yet and I don't want to get sick again." I answered.

Emmett gave me a party pooper look and Rose gave me a look that shouted grandma!

"I'll go with you. I probably need some ice cream for my lip anyways." Edward said while everyone else started walking toward Johnny Rockets.

Emmett threw me a suggestive look while he raised his eyebrows. I hope Edward didn't see that. My brother was so obvious and annoying! I knew it was a bad idea to tell him about my secret. UGH!

Rose, Jasper and Alice had smirks on their faces. We waved bye to everyone as we headed toward Baskin Robbins.

"You don't have to come with me Edward. I'm just going to pick up some Baskin Robbins and bring it back to my room."

"Oh, did you want to be alone?" He asked sounding dejected.

"No!" I said quickly and recovered from answering him so fast. Damn it! He would think I was desperate or something.

"No, I meant that you didn't have to come if you don't want to. But I'll be happy if I had company." I said.

He gave me a smile that melted my heart as we walked into the store. I ordered a pint of Mint Chocolate Chip while he ordered a pint of Jamocha Almond Fudge. He wouldn't let me pay even after I fought him at the cashier and then we headed back to my room.

The dorm was quiet. Everyone was probably out celebrating because of the big win. I felt bad that Edward decided to come back with me and not spend time with his friends. I went to open my door and stepped into my room.

"Edward, are you sure you want to stay? I don't mean to take away the excitement from your big win today. I mean you scored the winning touchdown!" I said.

"So you know what a touchdown is?" He teased.

I rolled my eyes. "I at least know what that is. But seriously, I might not be good company since I might just watch a movie and go to bed early."

"I want to be here and I was feeling tired too." He said.

He wanted to be here! My insides danced at that thought.

Then I saw his eyes fall on my bed. There laid out on my bed was the cropped navy blue jersey that Alice had forced me into earlier today. I forgot that I left it there. It was lying with his number and last name face up.

Oh God!

I ran to grab it and threw it in my closet as quickly as I could.

"Sorry about that. Alice gave it to me before the game and I didn't get a chance to wear it." I lied turning red. He did not need to know that I even had that shirt lying around and that I didn't want to wear it. I had to make something up so he wouldn't feel bad.

He looked …. relieved. I wasn't sure. It was probably because he didn't want me to wear his jersey. I'm sure the last thing he wants is to be around another obsessed fangirl.

_Thanks a lot, Alice!_

"Okay so what movie do you want to watch?" I asked.

"Whatever you want. It's your room so your choice." He said.

I walked through my stack of DVD's. I tried to pick something that he would like too.

"How about this?" I picked up _Star Wars: Return of the Jedi_ and threw it at him.

His eyes widened and I thought maybe I picked the wrong movie but his face broke out into a big grin.

"You like _Star Wars_?" He asked in awe.

"Uh, yeah. Who doesn't? It's a classic! Especially the older versions. I hated the newer ones that just came out. Plus, I love the ewoks!" I said.

He looked astounded and just nodded his head in agreement.

I went to grab the movie from him and popped it into my DVD player. I was wondering how we would sit to watch the movie. I mean it would be weird and uncomfortable for him to sit on my desk chair the entire time and the bean bags were too low since the TV screen was perched on a top shelf.

I can worry about that later. I had to change first and get out of this uncomfortable skirt.

"Edward, I'm going to throw on some sweats. I hope you don't mind. This skirt that Alice forced me in to is just so uncomfortable." I said while looking down at the skirt and fidgeting with it.

I pulled down on the skirt a little more and looked up to see him. His face was flushed a slight pink but he nodded his head and looked away.

I grabbed my grey sweatpants and a baggy black t-shirt that said "Got Dreams?" and went to the bathroom to change. I came out and saw that Edward took out the ice cream pints and had them on my nightstand. He was standing there probably wondering where to sit. I finally noticed that he had on sweats and a t-shirt.

He laughed as he saw me. "Nice shirt!"

"Thanks! I found it at some store in Santa Monica! I love it!"

I grabbed my pint and jumped onto my bed. I sat closer to the wall and motioned for him to sit next to me. He gave me an apprehensive look. He was always a gentleman.

"Rose would kill you if you got ice cream on her bed so this is the only option. The desk chair would be too uncomfortable and the bean bag is too low." I explained.

_Did he really not want to sit next to me? _

He nodded and sank down on my bed sitting next to me. I took a deep breath trying hard not to scream from excitement.

Here he was sitting on my bed, next to me and we were going to watch a movie!

_Bella, stop freaking out! _

He seemed a little tense but I started the movie and he seemed to relax a little. I started eating my ice cream and saw that he was digging into his as well.

"Who do you like better? Luke Skywalker or Hans Solo?" He asked.

"Hans Solo hands down." I said as if there was even a point to discuss it.

"Really? Most girls like Luke Skywalker because of the blond hair and blue eyes."

"Well, that's not my type and there is just something dreamy about Harrison Ford when he was younger." I sighed. He smiled at me.

"Okay then what about Chewbacca? Annoying or Funny?" He asked.

"Annoying. I can't stand that screech he does." I said while trying to mimic the screech.

"WAAHHH. Seriously, what is that?"

He looked shocked that I tried to mimic the sound.

_Great, Bella! Freak him out why don't you?_

But then he broke out into laughter. I did it again and he kept laughing while clutching his stomach. It made me happy to see him laughing and that I could do that to him.

"Okay, I have a question." I said.

"Shoot." He said.

"What is with Princess Leia and the gold bikini? Is that really every boy's fantasy? I mean I saw it on _Friends_ and it made me laugh but really?"

He laughed harder now with tears almost spilling from his eyes.

"You'd have to be a guy to understand." He said with a smug smile. I rolled my eyes knowing that I wouldn't get the answer to my question.

We went back to watching the movie and at one point, I was so engrossed in it that I didn't see him reach over and grab some of my ice cream with his spoon.

"Hey!" I said trying to slap his hand away.

He laughed while scooping the ice cream into his mouth. "Wow, this flavor is really good. I can see why you like it! Yum!"

"Oh yeah, well two can play at that game." I said as I reached my spoon over and grabbed some of his ice cream.

He tried to stop me by grabbing my hand but I shoved it into my mouth before I could spill it on my bed. That would not be good.

"Mmmmm … this is good!" I said and laughed.

His ice cream was really good. After a few more minutes, I noticed that his eyes were glued to the screen so I decided to go for it and get some more. I reached over quickly and grabbed a spoonful.

"Hey!" He said right after I stuffed the spoon into my mouth.

"Okay, how about we trade then since we seem to like each other's flavors?" He said.

I turned my head to the side and pretended to think about it. "Okay!" I said quickly while I handed him my container and he handed me his. He threw me a smile and chuckled.

After awhile, I was done with the ice cream and put it aside. Edward took both containers and put them both in my freezer. I was starting to get sleepy and my eyes started to droop.

I could feel my head hit something hard but I didn't bother to look at what it was. After a few minutes, I finally realized I was leaning my head against Edward's shoulder and it felt so nice.

"Bella?" He said.

"Hmmm," I replied sleepily.

"I should probably go. You're getting tired." He said.

"No, I'm fine!" I said sitting up and opening my eyes wide to show him that I wasn't tired.

"See. Not tired!" I said pointing to my wide open eyes that I was trying so hard to force open.

I really didn't want him to leave. He laughed and then paused the movie and turned to look at me. His lip was less swollen now.

I could see his face turning serious and saw that his eyes were dark.

Uh Oh … this doesn't look good.

"What?" I said.

"I have something that I've been wanting to ask you for awhile now." He said seriously.

Oh boy! This is it. He just wants to ask me where we stand and that he wants to be friends. I had to prepare myself for the impending doom.

Breathe in. Breathe out.

"What is it Edward?" I asked calmly trying to avoid his gaze. I didn't want him to see me tear up just in case it did happen. I know that I had been mentally preparing myself for this since we became friends but I still wanted to take it as a precaution.

"Um, I don't know how to say this." He said while running a hand through his hair.

I cringed. Here it comes. Prepare for heart break. I could see and hear my heart shattering into a million pieces and falling to the floor.

"Bella, w-would you go o-out to dinner with me next Saturday?" He asked nervously.

Oh, it was just dinner. That didn't mean anything. We eat together all the time. Why the heck was he so nervous?

I think my face fell slightly but I nodded and said yes.

I saw that his eyes light up and he replied, "Great! It's a date then!"

**WHOA, WHAT?! **

**A DATE?!**

I sat there speechless. After a few minutes of silence, he looked at me and saw that I was bewildered.

Edward Cullen asked ME out on a date!!! EEEKKK!!!

My insides were jumping up and down but before I could get excited I reached over and pinched my arm hard.

"Ow!" I yelped and jumped.

"Why did you do that? I saw you do it earlier with the bats and Jasper did it to you when they announced the Homecoming Queen nominations." Edward asked looking at me curiously.

He's going to think I'm crazy! But he didn't look at me like I was crazy. He looked like he was amused.

I turned red. "Well, you remember how I told you about the day dreams right? I tend to pinch myself to make sure that I'm not dreaming. And … apparently, I'm not!" I said excitedly. He laughed. Then his face got serious.

"So are you okay that it's a date?" He asked confused. He looked torn like he wasn't sure how I took his first question.

"YES!" I said a lot louder than I should have. I slapped my hand to my mouth and muttered a sorry.

Now he's probably going to think that I'm some overly excited insanely obsessed girl!

I saw his eyes light up again and he flashed me the crooked smile that made my heart jump. He looked like he was trying to suppress himself from laughing.

"Great! I'll pick you up at 7pm then next Saturday."

"Okay," I squeaked trying hard to maintain my excitement.

"It's getting late. I should go back to my room." He said.

"We haven't finished the movie yet!" I whined.

"We can finish it next time." He grinned.

Next time! There was a next time!

_Bella, that doesn't mean anything! _I scolded myself internally. We were close friends.

Yeah, but close friends don't ask you out on dates!!

"Okay." I walked him to the door and opened it as he walked out.

"Are you busy tomorrow?"

"No, not really. I'm just working on college apps. Why?"

"Well, the football team is having their annual charity car wash and I was wondering if you wanted to come help out. Alice, Rose and Jasper are coming too but I know that you're still getting over the flu so you don't have to come if you don't want to."

Are you freaking kidding me?! Even if I was on my deathbed I would still go just because he asked me to.

"No, it sounds like fun. I'll be there." I grinned at him.

"Great. I had a lot of fun tonight Bella. Good Night! I'll see you tomorrow." He said flashing me another heart stopping smile. He leaned in just as I froze not sure what he was going to do and kissed me on the cheek. I could feel the tingle go down to my toes.

"Good Night Edward!" I beamed.

I saw him walk down the hall. I could've sworn I saw him jump up pumping his fist in the air. Once he was out of sight, I closed our door.

I jumped up and down shaking my head and hands screaming silently with excitement. I never wanted to wash my cheek ever again!

I wasn't tired any more so I ran to my iHome and pushed play.

_Now if she does it like this, will you do it like that?_

_Now if she touches like this, will you touch her right back?_

_Now if she moves like this, will you move her like that? (Come on)_

I started dancing around the room shaking my hips and my hair.

_Shake, Shake, Shake, Shake, uh shake it_

_Shake, Shake, Shake, Shake, uh shake it_

_Shake, Shake, Shake, Shake, uh shake it_

_Shake, Shake, Shake, Shake, uh shake it_

_Shake, Shake, Shake, Shake, uh shake it _

_(Shake It – Metro Station)_

I continued to run around the room dancing and throwing my hands and arms up in the air. As I was jumping up and down, I heard someone fumbling with the door. It scared me and as I was about to land on my feet, I slipped on our rug.

**OMPF! **

I fell onto my back. "Ow!" I yelled.

"Bella! Are you okay?" Rose said running over to me.

I sat up rubbing the back of my head. "Yeah," I said while I got up and turned off the music.

"What were you doing? I thought I saw you dancing around in here from outside. Were you really dancing?"

She saw me?! Does that mean that Edward saw me too when he was leaving? Oh God!

"Yes. I was just dancing around." I muttered.

"I've never seen you willingly dance before. I only noticed because I saw Edward outside looking up here and laughing. What happened?"

OH God. He really did see me.

"You saw him outside?!" I screeched.

"Yeah, he was laughing while staring up at our room but when I came by I think I scared him. He jumped and then said bye quickly and left. I take it that ice cream went well?" she prodded.

"It was … fantastic!" I replied dreamily forgetting about the embarrassment of Edward seeing me dancing.

My head was starting to hurt so I lied down on my bed. I told her what we did and about the date and she screamed. I was sure the entire dorm heard that. She wrapped me in a hug and was jumping up and down. I'd never seen Rose so excited before. But I didn't care. I was just as excited.

If only this stupid headache would go away. That's what I get for dancing around in socks. Ugh!

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**A/N: So finally Edward asked her out on a date! YAY!! But of course I have two more chapters before the date because of DRAMA! Don't worry it's all fun stuff! And E&B will get together soon ... I'm leading up to that. School has only been in session for a month now and we have the whole school year to go but they will get together in time (Not soon but not too far long)!!! Please stick with me on this! I will not lead you astray! Of course in the mean time, there will be more flirting which is always good, right?**

**As for the bats, don't ask me where I got that idea from. It just came into my head when writing and I thought since I hate Jacob I might as well make him afraid of vampire bats. There really are vampire bats. I saw it on a documentary on the Discovery Channel a few years ago. **

**Is anyone glad that Jacob got a black eye from Edward? I know I am. There will be more torturous things in store for him once you find out what really went down at this game.**

**Did you think the E&B interaction was cute?! I do (raising my hand)! **

**And who has slipped and fallen while dancing in socks? I have! **

**Also, I picked this song because I love the chorus it just makes you want to get up and shake it! **

**Next up ... Car Wash!!! Woo Hoo! Who doesn't want to see the hot guys of RCP half naked and wet and ... well, you get it. =) **

**Please Review and Thanks for Reading!! **


	18. Fun, Fun, Fun

**A/N: Thanks again for all the reviews and alerts! You are guys are just making me so happy!! **

**So I finally had the guts to show this story to my husband. I know, I know! I was nervous and embarrassed. But he really liked it and that made me really really happy! He's going to try to help me with ideas too ... and my husband is one very funny guy so I'm hoping he'll give me some good stuff. **

**Here is the car wash that everyone has been waiting for! Hahaha ... I guess everyone is more excited to read about the half-naked guys more than anything! This chapter is shorter than most of my others. It's mainly a fluff chapter but still fun and cute. It's also named after another cover song. **

**And thanks to charlotte90 for a great idea that I incorporated into this chapter. I will explain in more in my bottom A/N. Read on!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Twilight or Ally McBeal. I do own the storyline and any characters that I make up.**

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**Chapter 18 – Fun, Fun, Fun**

Songs – Fun, Fun, Fun by Caleigh Peters (Original Version by The Beach Boys)

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I looked down and saw that I was wearing a gold bikini top and gold flowly pants. My hair was tied into two buns on both sides of my head. I was running and I was holding onto someone's hand. I looked up and saw Edward wearing a white shirt and brown pants. He was carrying a weird looking gun.

We kept running and I wasn't sure what we were running from. I finally turned around and saw what looked like Jacob Black but a giant blob running after us. I did a double-take and stopped running. Then I started laughing at the sight of Jacob the Hutt.

I felt my body shaking.

"Bella! Bella! Wake Up!" I saw Jacob the Hutt's mouth move.

"Huh? What?" I said as my eyelids flew open. I rubbed my eyes adjusting to the light.

Rose was towered over me. "You were dreaming!"

I rolled over in bed rubbing my eyes. I paused for a moment before I burst into giggles.

"Oh yeah, it was so funny!"

"You were mumbling something about a gold bikini and Hans Solo. Then you said Edward's name and then Jacob the Hutt?" she said confused. "What was that about?"

I cracked up laughing. Rose looked at me like I was possessed. I finally calmed down enough to tell her about the dream and she laughed too. Although, I was slightly embarrassed that I was Princess Leia in a gold bikini. Mental note to self: Make sure not to tell Alice or she would have a field day with that as my Halloween costume.

I looked out the window and saw that it was going to be a bright and sunny day. I could tell it was going to be hot. We would sometimes get crazy weather in Los Angeles. It looked like a heat wave was coming and it was October!

"Rose, what are you wearing to the car wash?" I asked while standing in front of my closet trying to figure out what to wear.

"You should wear a swimsuit in case you get wet but pretty much a bikini top and shorts."

"That's it?!" I asked.

"Yes, that's it! And you should wear the same thing. No BUTS! You don't want to look like a nun while washing a car and plus, the guys need us to attract cars!"

I rolled my eyes at her. "You've got to be kidding me. That is not the reason why they asked us to help. It's for charity!"

"Sure, just keep telling yourself that!" Rose said as she grabbed her things and went into the bathroom.

Just then I heard a knock on our door. I ran to grab the door and saw Alice standing in the doorway wearing a black bandeau top with a black and white floral sarong. She was carrying a shopping bag.

"Good Morning, Bella!" She chirped as she strode into the room.

"Hey, Alice. What's with the shopping bag?" I asked pointing to the bag that she put on my bed.

"It's your outfit for today, silly!"

"Alice, you know I have a ton of bikinis and shorts. You didn't have to buy me another outfit!" I scolded.

"Yes, I know but this one you have to wear today and no more excuses! Once Rose comes out, you better go change!" She ordered.

I sighed. There was no point in arguing with her.

After a few minutes, Rose came out wearing a red string bikini top and a short white wrap around skirt. I huffed and grabbed the shopping bag walking into the bathroom. I was not looking forward to flaunting my body for people to want to drive their cars to get a car wash and I was wondering what the hell kind of outfit Alice got for me.

As I opened the bag, I screamed and dropped it to the floor.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

"Bella, what's wrong? Are you okay?" Rose yelled with concern.

"HELL NO! THERE IS NO WAY I AM WEARING THIS ALICE!" I screamed.

I heard them whispering to each other and then I heard Rose giggling.

"You are too, Bella! Now hurry up!" Alice yelled banging on the door.

I cringed.

What am I getting myself into? Seriously?! Oh GOD!

I slowly and hesitantly put on the bikini top and the board shorts.

Did Edward put her up to this? If he did, he is so dead!

"I AM NOT PUTTING MY HAIR UP INTO TWO BUNS!" I shouted.

"Who said you have to do that?" Alice asked sounding confused. I heard Rose whispering to her and Alice started laughing. Then Rose joined in and they sounded like they were rolling on the floor.

Great, here were my two best friends laughing their asses off about me!

I put my hair into two pigtails and curled the ends of my hair and stepped out of the bathroom.

Alice squealed. "You look hot, Bella!"

Rose whistled and pointed to my hair. "You look cute in a _Gilligan's Island_ Mary Ann type way. I'm sure the Professor will be happy!"

"The Professor? Don't you mean Hans Solo?" Alice teased which started a giggling fit with the both of them.

I rolled my eyes.

Yes, I was wearing the Princess Leia gold damn bikini. Luckily, Alice got me brown board shorts to go with it so it wasn't as obvious but I'm sure Edward would definitely know.

Ugh! Kill me now!

"How did you know about my dream?" I asked narrowing my eyes at her.

Alice smiled at me with a twinkle in her eye. "I just had a feeling this morning and when I get a feeling I go with it. I honestly didn't know about the dream until Rose just filled me in, which is hilarious by the way!" She laughed again.

Yeah, right! A feeling ... If Edward put her up to this, he is going to get what was coming to him.

I scowled at her and put on my white flip-flops. I grabbed a beach towel just in case we needed to dry off.

"Are you ready to go flaunt it, Princess?" Rose asked.

"Please do not call me that or I will not walk out that door!" I hissed.

"And we are not flaunting it! We're helping the football team and that's it!" I said.

"Fine! Let's go!" Rose grabbed my arm pushing me out the door.

As we started walking out of the building, Alice handed us some inflated balloons.

"Here take these." She said.

"Water balloons?" I asked.

"Yeah, I thought we should be prepared just in case." She winked. I stuffed some in my pockets remembering to fill them up later.

The three of us linked arms and walked out to the parking lot.

The entire football team was already there working. All the guys were wearing their swimming trunks and the girls were wearing similar outfits to ours so I didn't feel as self-conscious.

It's not like I had much to feel self-conscious about besides my two mosquito bites and stick legs.

GRREEEAATTT, now I felt even worse looking at the model girls in front of me. I gulped.

Jenny and some of her cheerleader friends were there. I met them before and they were all really pretty, nice and sweet. If I remember correctly, their names were Stacy, Janet, Carrie and Annie. Stacy was also one of the other girls nominated for Homecoming Queen. I looked and saw that she was talking to Jack. Hmmm … they look really cute together.

If I stepped back and took a look at the scene before me I swear that it looked more like an _Abercrombie & Fitch_ ad more than anything because of all the beautiful half naked people I was surrounded by.

Music was blasting from a radio. It was a cover song of Fun, Fun, Fun by the Beach Boys but was from Caleigh Peters.

_Well She Got Her Daddy's Car_

_And She Cruised Through The Hamburger Stand Now_

_Seems She Forgot All About The Library_

_Like She Told Her Old Man Now_

_And With The Radio Blasting_

_Goes Cruising Just As Fast As She Can Now_

I took a deep breath knowing that I was about to see Edward half naked. I had to focus. No dreaming or I was done for. I scanned the crowd looking for Emmett, Jasper and Edward.

As we got closer to the crowd, we waved to everyone. I swear I saw most of the guys have their eyes bugged out of their heads when they caught a glance of what I was wearing. The outfit was just too familiar to them.

I threw Alice an I'm-going-to-kill-you look as she shrugged her shoulders looking at me innocently.

Damn pixie!

Emmett and Jasper looked just as surprised at what I was wearing and I was sure they connected the dots. Emmett gave me an evil grin but kept his mouth shut. Thank God! Knowing Emmett he would never let this go.

_And She'll Have Fun Fun Fun_

_Til Her Daddy Takes The T-Bird Away_

_Fun Fun Fun Til Her Daddy Takes The T-Bird Away_

_(Fun, Fun, Fun – Caleigh Peters)_

They ran over to us holding sponges. "Hey Girls!" Emmett boomed with a wicked smile. I knew something was coming. Just then he flung the sponge at us. Luckily, Alice and I jumped out of the way in time but it hit Rose.

She looked furious. "EMMETT SWAN! You did not just do that!" She screeched. Emmett's eyes widened and he took off running as Rose chased after him. Everyone started laughing.

"Hey Bells. Hi Ally." Jasper said while staring at Alice. He handed her a sponge as she responded. "Hey Jazzy." And then they were completely in their own world. They walked off hand in hand making googly eyes to each other.

Just as I tried looking around as to what I should do, my breathing hitched. I froze staring at the Greek God that was walking toward me. He was wearing navy blue Abercrombie swimming trunks that hung low on his hips and went to his knees. He was lean but muscular and his six-pack was definitely prominent.

It was like everything went in slow motion as he walked toward me. I could've sworn I saw his eyes widen as he looked at I was wearing and then he gave me a smirk.

Can this be any more torturous but in a good way?

I never saw him like this in person only through the photos in Tanya's column. Each year, Tanya did a special piece on the annual football team's car wash, which included pictures of the entire football team half naked. Let's just say that it was the most read column of the year. And yes, I admit I looked forward to that issue every year just so I could fantasize too. Lame. Very lame.

The pictures did not do Edward any justice with what was in front of me right now. I was sure my mouth dropped wide open and drool was shooting out of it. I had to make sure I stayed composed and that I didn't stare at his openly bare chest.

Opps!

He caught me staring. I looked away quickly and could feel my cheeks lighting on fire. Damn it! I wasn't supposed to be so obvious.

I looked back at him this time and saw that he was right in front of me with his bare chest within eye level of me. I could see every muscle and had to think of something to distract me so that I wouldn't daydream.

_Quick! Think of something! _

_Grandpa wearing shorts! _

I shuddered. Ew … That definitely stopped the drooling and staring. I hope Edward didn't catch the change in my face.

I looked up at him as he threw me his lopsided grin that made my stomach flip flop. I smiled back as he handed me a sponge.

He leaned down and whispered in my ear. "Nice outfit, Princess. What about the buns?"

I groaned and smacked him on the arm. He laughed. "Alice got me this ridiculous outfit saying how she had a feeling about it. You didn't put her up to this did you?" I hissed.

He put his hands up like he was surrendering. "It wasn't me! I swear! Alice has feelings about things sometimes and sticks with it. It's really weird but that's just Alice."

"Okay, fine! Just know that I am not happy about this." I huffed.

He chuckled and leaned down whispering in my ear. "You know you're really cute when you get angry."

I turned bright red not wanting to look up at him.

He cleared his throat. "So um, are you ready?" He asked nervously.

"Sure, just let me know what car to work on." I squeaked.

He led me over to a black Toyota Camry that Jenny and Steve were working on.

"Hey Guys!" I said and waved to them.

"Hey Bells!" They both replied in unison.

I grabbed a bucket and crouched down to clean the rims while using the sponge that Edward gave me and started washing away.

It was only then I heard someone clear her throat behind me.

"Excuse me, but what is _she_ doing here?"

I turned around and saw Lauren standing there with her arms crossed staring down at me. Her group of friends standing behind her in the same stance.

I stood up and before I could say anything Edward came over to me and stood between us.

"Bella's here to help." Edward replied with an annoyed tone.

"Yeah, but she never did before." Lauren yelled.

Then Emmett and Rose came over. "So, she's here to help this year. We need all the help we can get. Unlike you and your friends who just stand there doing nothing at all." Emmett said through his clenched teeth.

I looked at Lauren and her group and noticed that they weren't wet and didn't look like they lifted a finger. Lauren was wearing a tight hot pink bikini top that looked slightly too small for her size and she was wearing daisy duke jean ripped shorts. I was surprised she didn't show up in a thong.

"What do you mean? I am helping. I'm attracting all the cars." She purred innocently.

"We don't need prostitutes to attract cars!" Someone yelled out. I turned to see who it was and saw Brian turning away with a smile.

Everyone starting laughing and I could see steam coming out from Lauren's head. She huffed and walked away with her group following behind her.

"Are you okay, squirt?" Emmett came over to me.

"Yes, I'm fine. I'm not going to faint again. I'm not that fragile. I was just sick last time." I said.

"Okay, but don't let her get to you. She's stupid!" He said as he started to walk back to the car he was working on with Rose.

"Wait, Em. Did you guys get in trouble for the fight yesterday?" I asked.

He shook his head no. "We talked about it with the Coach and he let it go."

Hmmm … something really bad must've happened for the Coach to excuse their behavior from yesterday especially if they got suspended last year for fighting. I'll have to bug Emmett about it later.

The rest of the time, we slaved away washing cars. It was like a non-stop flow of cars coming in. And some I could tell were students from other rival schools trying to get a sneak peek at our football team and cheerleaders.

Of course, most patrons were girls pulling up into the parking lot. I saw them ogling Edward, Jack, Emmett and Jasper. They got the most stares out of all the guys but of course every guy was gawked at. The entire football team looked like they stepped out of the pages of _GQ_ magazine, even Mike Newton and his group of friends, which I would never admit out loud.

And then there were some guys that came to get their cars washed and I could feel the gawking. It was uncomfortable to say the least but most eyes were focused on Rose. I was thankful for that since she was basking in the attention. Even though Emmett scared everyone away with his glares.

Just as I was finished washing the trunk of a blue Nissan Altima, I felt cold water sprayed on my back. I jumped and turned around seeing Edward standing there holding a hose and smiling at me.

"Edward! You did not just do that!" I yelled grabbing my sponge, dunking into a bucket and chucking it at him. It hit him square in the chest.

His mouth dropped open in shock. He probably didn't know that I had a good aim. I smirked at him. "You are so going to get it, Bella!" He said smiling while lunging toward me. I took off running as he chased me around with the hose spraying my feet.

I remembered that I had filled up some water balloons earlier with Rose and Alice and hid them by one of the bushes. I dashed behind a bush grabbing some balloons and started chucking them at Edward. I hit him in the arm and leg.

"Hey, where did you get those?" He yelled running after me.

"That's one secret I will never tell!" I laughed.

I dodged behind Scott who unfortunately, got sprayed by Edward on accident. I popped out behind Scott and saw Edward apologizing. Edward saw me and threw me a glare as I stuck my tongue out at him taunting him. It was childish but I was having fun. I could tell he was trying hard not to laugh.

"Cheater!" He yelled as he started chasing me again.

"Am not! I just have good friends!" I yelled behind me while running.

I threw the rest of my balloons at him hitting him each time. He looked surprised that I got him.

"Yes! I warned you not to mess with me!" I said as we paused to catch our breaths. Emmett and Rose were between us now so I knew he wouldn't try anything.

"You're so going to get it when I get you!" He teased.

"Let's see you try!" I taunted as I took off running. I ran out of balloons and looked around for some sort of ammo. I saw a bucket full of water lying on the ground a few feet ahead of me. As I grabbed it, I turned around quickly and flung the bucket as hard as I could so that it would splash him.

Then I heard a girl screaming at the top of her lungs. I dropped the bucket in shock and closed my eyes.

SHIT!

Hopefully it was Alice or Rose. They wouldn't kill me. I slowly opened my eyes and saw a soaking wet Lauren standing there fuming at me. Her hair was completely drenched and water was trickling down her body to her shorts.

"SWAN!"

My mouth dropped open. I really didn't mean it and I felt bad even though it was Lauren.

"I'm so sorry!" I said the words flying out of my mouth. "I thought you were Edward."

Edward stood there between us shocked. Everyone stopped what they were doing and were staring at us.

"You! UGH! Oh, you are so going to get it!" She hissed glaring death at me and stormed off toward her dorm. I saw her group of friends running after her.

"Ding Dong! The witch is dead." Emmett sang loudly enough for her to hear.

"Which old witch?" Brian sang.

"The wicked witch!" Emmett sang.

Everyone laughed. Brian came over and patted me on the back giving me a thumbs up. I shrugged my shoulders. I really didn't do it on purpose but secretly it was nice to have a little payback for what happened at the cafeteria.

I cringed though because I had no idea what Lauren would be capable of doing. It's not everyday that you piss off the Queen Bee.

"Did anyone ever tell you that you have a good aim?" Edward said teasingly as he walked over to stand next to me.

I groaned. "I really thought I got you. I can't believe it was Lauren instead. I am so dead."

"Don't worry about it. We're all here to protect you." He said and flashed me a smile.

But I couldn't stop worrying about what happened with Lauren. I took his words in but I wasn't so sure how much they could protect me from Lauren's wrath.

* * *

**A/N: So at first I was going to do the gold bikini dream in the next chapter but after charlotte90 gave me the idea of having Bella wear the gold bikini to the car wash, I decided to move it and incorporate the dream sequence and gold bikini into this chapter. At first I had her just wearing normal shorts and a bikini top sort of like Mary Ann from Gilligan's Island, hence, the comment I had Rose say. I still liked the Gilligan's Island reference though and kept that in here. Thanks charlotte90! That was a great idea! **

**Did you like the gold bikini incorporated into this? I loved it!**

**Did anyone catch the Gossip Girl quote? I had to include it in here since it's one of my favorite TV shows. **

**And did you like the "two mosquito bites" comment? My friends and I used to always joke about our boobs being small so we named them after bug bites. Hahaha ... Hope you thought it was funny!  
**

**Who was happy to see Lauren get it? Even if it was by accident. What is Lauren going to do?! You'll find out in the next chapter!!! Dum Da Dum Dum DUMMMMM!! **

**Did you like the B&E water fight? So cute!**

**And what the heck did happen at the football game that even the Coach would let things go? Oh, yeah, only I know ... Muahahaha ...**

**I will update soon since this was a shorter chapter. I know you're all anticipating for the date chapter too which is only one more away from the next one!**

**Please Review and Thanks for Reading!**


	19. Manic Monday

**A/N: So I had a record number of reviews with this last chapter! Thanks again for reading and for all the reviews and alerts! You don't know how happy and excited I have been. I'm so glad that you are all enjoying this and that it's making you laugh!**

**So this chapter isn't that funny (in my opinion) compared to the others because of what happens below. And there is fluff in this chapter too. **

**Also, this chapter is named after another cover song! Of course, I love the original version but this version is good too!! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Twilight or Ally McBeal. I do own the storyline and any characters that I make up.**

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**Chapter 19 – Manic Monday**

Song – Manic Monday by Relient k (Original Version by The Bangles)

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It was a new Monday, which meant a new Tanya column. I flung myself out of bed and went to the door, grabbing the paper.

I opened it scanning the headlines. There were pictures of the football fight and a big paragraph discussing the rivalry. Then there was a separate paragraph discussing how I kicked Jacob in the groin. They took a good picture of that too which caused Rose and I to keel over in laughter.

The column also announced that Alice and Jasper were now a couple. There were pictures of them on some of their dates. They were so cute together.

The car wash column wouldn't be out until next week but they did show a few pictures of what happened between Lauren and me and the bucket incident. That was not good.

Then I saw the biggest portion of the column. It was a scoreboard for Team Beck and Team Edella. I rolled my eyes. Team Edella was in the lead. 30-5.

They had printed pictures of Edward carrying me to the medical center and carrying me back to the dorms, giving him more points. And then there were pictures of Edward going in and out of our dorm each day.

Apparently, Tanya gave Edward bonus points for that. There were also pictures of Edward catching me when I tripped on thin air and there were pictures of us at Baskin Robbins. And there were pictures of us at the car wash.

Could I die from any more embarrassment? Here my life was laid out in a stupid newspaper column for the entire world to see.

There were few if any pictures of Jack and I together because we barely talked during the week. But the article did have a picture of Jack and I at _TGI Friday's_ hugging. Oh God. Seemingly, he only got a few points for that.

The rest of the article talked about how Jack needed to step up his A game since he was losing now. This was just getting ridiculous. Then there was a phone number that caught my eye at the end of the article. It said, "To order your Team Beck or Team Edella shirt, call this number."

I recognized that number. I grabbed my phone while Rose laughed at me. I dialled the number and as soon as the person picked up I started yelling.

"EMMETT SWAN! Why are you selling t-shirts?! What is the meaning of this?! How can you do this to me?! Are you really trying to make money off your sister's dating life?! You have gone too far. I'm shutting down your operation." I yelled.

"But Bells! I've made so much money off this! Please!" He pleaded.

"I don't care how much money you have made. You have to stop it now!" I screeched.

"I'll give you a portion of what I make. If I stop now, someone else will pick it up. Please, Bells!"

"I can't believe this. I can't believe you. Are you crazy?! How am I even related to you?" I screamed rambling into the phone while pacing back and forth in my room.

"Bells, you have to know that I've made so much money off this. Everyone's been buying them. They are selling like hot cakes. Well, more Team Edella than Team Beck but still."

I ignored what he said and yelled. "Like you said, we don't need the money. Why do you care? Are you enjoying contributing to making your sister's life a living hell? I can't believe you even told Tanya to include you in the column to advertise for the shirts. You have gone too far, Emmett!"

I could hear Jasper in the background trying to get Emmett to stop. He could hear my yelling through the phone.

"Aw, come on, Bells. You're such a party pooper. How about this? I'll do anything you want if you let me sell the shirts. Please?" He pleaded.

I thought about this for a moment. There were a few things that I wanted to know but how was I going to go about this in order for it to work to my benefit.

"Well, there are a few things that I've been wanting to ask you."

"Deal. I'll answer every question you ask me truthfully if you let me sell the shirts."

"How many questions do I get?"

"Five Questions." He said.

He had no idea what was coming to him.

"Deal!" I replied. We decided we would have a brother and sister dinner next Monday night.

I rubbed my hands together trying to think of all the questions that I had waiting for him. He was so in for it!

**

* * *

**

As Rose and I headed out into the school, we kept getting stares from people and seeing people whispering. That was odd. It hadn't been like this for awhile so I had no idea what it could be. Then we saw Alice running up to us holding up a white piece of paper. She looked frantic and was starting to freak me out. I could feel my cell phone buzzing but ignored it.

"Guys, Look!" She said as she pointed to the paper. I looked down at the paper in her hand and froze.

It was a picture of Rose and I changing in the locker room before gym class. We were just in our bra and underwear and the words "WHORES and SLUTS" were written across it along with our phone numbers and something along the lines of call for a good time.

So this was Lauren's payback. How the hell did she even get our phone numbers?

My eyes popped out of my head. "HOLY."

Rose yelled. "SHIT."

"I know that Lauren posted it up this morning with her bimbo sluts. We tried taking down as many as we could when we saw them." Alice said quickly.

I looked around and saw the entire school littered with the white pieces of paper. It looked like it had snowed and we were in LA! This was definitely the most embarrassing situation that I have ever been in. It topped the cake.

Rose looked like she was ready to kill. "I AM GOING TO KILL THAT BITCH!"

I could feel the blood boil in my veins and I knew that I was not going to let this go. "SHE IS GOING DOWN!" I yelled.

We started running to pick up the fliers and throwing them in the trash. I saw Rose answering her phone. She started yelling loudly and then slammed it shut.

"Stupid idiot! Some random guy just called me because of this flier!" She hissed.

I did not want to bother getting to my phone right now which was still buzzing.

"Alice, who else has seen this? And who is we when you said that earlier with helping you clean these up?" I asked.

"Well, you're lucky you're a little early this morning but I'd say about twenty percent of the school. And Jenny and the cheerleaders are helping and the football team …" she trailed off.

DAMN IT! Twenty percent of the school! That was still about a good two thousand students. And the guys saw it, which means Edward saw it. I knew I would die from humiliation.

I looked at Rose who gasped and I knew immediately what she was thinking.

"EMMETT!" We both screamed.

Emmett would be furious. No scratch that more than furious. He would be livid. And a livid Emmett was asking for immediate death. This was his sister and girlfriend practically naked for the whole world to see. I didn't even want to know what he would be capable of doing.

Rose and I cringed. I'm sure she was imagining the same angry Emmett as I was.

"Alice, does Emmett know?" I asked calmly.

"Um, yeah. He ordered the football team to help clean these up and Scott had to hold him back for him to calm down. Don't even get me started on Jasper, Edward and Jack's reactions." Alice said as she bit her lip nervously.

This was not good. Not good at all. Then we heard a woman's voice over the PA system, "Rosalie Hale and Isabella Swan, please report to the principal's office immediately."

I looked at Rose again with fear in my eyes as we both gulped.

"Are you two okay?" Alice asked nervously. I'm sure she was afraid of what our reaction would be. I couldn't even think about it because I was so focused on trying to get the fliers cleaned up and figure out what to do with Emmett and Jasper.

I knew Jasper would be just as furious as Emmett but he never really showed his emotions too much. It was more the aftermath of Emmett's destruction that I was waiting for.

"It's still registering for us, Alice. There's a lot to process and a lot of things going on right now." Rose replied calmly.

"It's not your fault so don't be scared. Just tell them what happened. And Lauren better get what's coming to her for this!" Alice said.

"Let's head to the office now. Thanks for helping us clean this up, Alice." I said as she gave us both hugs and went back to picking up the fliers.

Rose took my arm and held it securely. I knew she was trying to be strong and she was always stronger than me but still how could we deal with the entire school seeing us practically naked and harassing us now on our cell phones.

As we walked into the principal's office, Emmett and Jasper were both standing there with steam coming out of their heads.

Principal Walker came out and motioned for us to go into his office. He was a short and stubby balding man around his late 50's.

"I would like to speak with the girls first, if you don't mind." He said to Emmett and Jasper who waited outside.

He closed the door and cleared his throat. "Well, ladies. I woke up this morning to find these littered over the entire school grounds. Do you have any idea why someone would want to do this to you both? It is a serious offence as it looks like the photo was taken without your consent. Is this true?" He said seriously.

Before I could speak, Rose answered. "It was taken without our consent and we know who did this to us, Sir. It was Lauren Mallory and her friends."

"Lauren Mallory? She's not the ideal student here at Ridge Crest but she's never gotten into any trouble before. Are you sure that you know it is her? Do you have any evidence?"

I looked down at my feet as Rose looked defeated. "Um, no we don't have any evidence but we know it's her, Sir. She hasn't liked the both of us since school started."

"Well, I'm sorry but we can't accuse her of this if we don't have any proof. I suggest you find some proof and we can press charges against her for doing this. We take actions like this seriously here at Ridge Crest. I'm going to bring your brothers in here now. They are not happy about this at all. You are both model students and I'm sorry that someone has done this to you."

He went to open the door motioning for Jasper and Emmett to come in. Once they were inside, he closed the door.

"Now boys, I know that you are upset with what has happened to your sisters but we will find out who did this. As I suggested to the girls, it's best if you can find proof. And proof by any means necessary." He said.

I could sense the underlying meaning of his words and was pretty sure that he would overlook what we would have to do to get the proof.

"I'm aware of Lauren Mallory and her presence at this school. I'm not willing to overlook anything until you can show me what she has done. Now, Emmett, I heard that you have asked the cheerleaders and football team to help clean up the fliers?"

Emmett nodded his head since he was still too angry to speak.

"Good, now you can be excused. I'm giving you first and second period off to help clean up as well."

With that we were excused from the principal's office. As we walked outside, Emmett slammed his fist into a locker making a look completely mangled. I knew for sure that it was broken beyond repair causing me to wince.

"Emmett!" Rose yelled.

"THAT BITCH! I can't believe she would stoop so low! If she wasn't a girl, she would be so dead right now!" He yelled.

"I know, Em. I wish we could do something about it too but we have to find proof to get her in trouble. How are we going to do that?" I asked.

"You heard Walker, we can use any means necessary." Jasper said through his clenched teeth. I could feel the waves of anger coming from him.

"Well, let's come up with a plan. What's done is done. We can't do anything about it now. We'll just have to clean up everything and figure out our next step." Rose said calmly even though she was infuriated. I could see it in her eyes.

"And we have to get new cell phone numbers. I got about a hundred obscene texts just from this morning." I groaned while shutting off my phone and shoving it into my book bag.

"Don't worry. We'll get her back big time. She's going to wish that she never met us!" Emmett roared.

I shivered at that thought and Emmett's warpath that was now clearly marked toward Lauren. She just dug herself her own grave and even I felt scared for her.

As I walked back to start cleaning up the fliers, I felt myself being pulled into a giant bear hug. I looked up to see Emmett hugging me. He looked like tears were about to form in his eyes and I have never seen him cry before. Ever.

"What's wrong, Emmett?" I tried to ask but sounded muffled while pressed tightly against his chest.

"I'm just worried about you. Are you okay?" He asked while letting me go.

"I'm fine, Em. Thanks for worrying but I don't want you to worry about me. I did fine before you came here and I can take care of myself."

"I know but you're my baby sister. When I started here, I wanted to make sure that no one would bother you and the fact that Lauren has her sights set on you and Rose just makes me so mad." His voice was getting louder and angrier again.

"I don't know why she hates me so much. I never did anything to her." I said in an almost whisper.

"It's because she's jealous of you Bells."

"Why would she be jealous of me?"

"I'm not going to tell you about the obvious but it's because of all the attention you're getting from everyone and making new friends and mostly because of Edward. He's following you around like a puppy. The guy is whipped and you two haven't even had your first date yet." Emmett laughed his signature booming laugh. He went from being serious Emmett to childish Emmett in less than sixty seconds.

"He is not, Emmett!" I hissed.

He rolled his eyes at me. "Whatever, Bellie! I heard that Lauren thinks that she has some sort of claim on Edward and Jack and well, pretty much every guy at this school. You know her and her slutty ways, but for some reason she's more particularly stuck on Edward."

GRRRREEEATTT, no wonder the Queen Bee is out to get me.

I went back to cleaning up all the fliers I could find. At least she didn't text message the picture to everyone. There would've been no way we could clean that up.

After looking at the fliers for the past two hours, it wasn't as bad as I thought. It was like we were wearing our bikinis but I guess since it was our bra and underwear it was definitely more offensive and private. I think I was just trying to reason with myself so that I wouldn't cry in public. I was sure this was going to hit Tanya's column next week and I vowed to myself that she would never get a picture of me in there crying for the whole world to see.

As we met up with everyone else, I could see everyone else fuming. Edward looked like he was about to kill someone.

The girls came up to Rose and I giving us hugs. I felt a little better knowing that we had so much support from friends.

"Newton, you better throw those away. I don't want to see you hoarding them!" Emmett yelled at Mike who was holding onto a huge stack of fliers. He grimaced as Emmett shouted at him and went to throw the fliers in the trash.

Everyone huddled around asking us what we were going to do since we explained that we didn't have any proof that Lauren did it. Emmett was still upset but then it was like a huge light bulb went on in his head. His eyes widened and he had a huge smile on his face.

He boomed. "Everyone huddle up. I have an idea but it's going to take awhile to get there and we'll need everyone's help."

"We're listening." We all said in unison.

And then Emmett went on explaining what to do. There were a lot of small and big pranks involved and eventually a way to get what we needed to prove that Lauren did this. It seemed like it would never end but heck, I was up for it at this point. Lauren crossed the line. I was not going to hold back anymore.

"What is she allergic to?" Jasper asked.

"She's allergic to strawberries!" Jenny replied.

"Great! I have an idea with that!" Rose said.

"Is she afraid of anything?" Emmett asked.

"She thinks the school is haunted and she hates rats and spiders." Stacy said.

"Great! This is going to be fun!" Scott said while rubbing his hands together.

"Rose, you can get a copy of her room key right?" Brian asked.

"Yes, Sir!" Rose said while saluting him.

"Perfect! This is going to work out to our advantage but we have to keep it between us. Everyone hands in!" Emmett said as we all put our hands in the huddle.

I didn't realize how large of a group we were. About eighteen of us and I hoped everyone could keep the plan secret. There was Stacy, Janet, Carrie, Annie, Jenny, Kate, Alice, Rose and I from the girls side and Brian, Mark, Jack, Scott, Steve, Garrett, Jasper, Emmett and Edward from the guys side.

I cringed. How was this going to work with so many people? I knew the girls would come in handy since they were cheerleaders and had close access to Lauren. And the guys hated Lauren either way and wanted to do something to get her anyways. And she was like putty when it came to the football team.

"Go Team Revenge! Operation Annihilate Malibu Barbie has been initiated." Emmett yelled as we all raised our hands.

I rolled my eyes at Emmett. Leave it to him to make this into some sort of top-secret spy mission.

As soon as that was over, we went back to cleaning up. It was almost time for us to go to our third period class.

I was too embarrassed to talk to any of the guys so I left and started walking to my English class. It was only after a few seconds that I noticed Edward walking next to me.

Emmett's voice popped into my head. _"He's following you around like a puppy. The guy is whipped and you guys haven't even had your first date yet."_

I shook it aside not wanting to think about that right now. It couldn't be true. This was Edward Cullen we're talking about. He never showed interest in anyone at school. Even if we were going on a date, I really wouldn't be surprised if it was because of the competition.

Could my day have gotten any worse?

"Are you okay?" He asked. His voice was filled with concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I squeaked not wanting him to know what I was really thinking about.

"That was really horrible what Lauren did." He said with his teeth clenched. I could tell he really wanted to say a few more things about her but kept it to himself.

I nodded my head in agreement and continued looking in front of me. I didn't want to look at him. It was just too embarrassing.

"Bella, I know you're upset about it. Did you want to talk about it?" He asked. He knew me too well. We've become so close that we could read other so easily.

I stopped walking. "I am upset about it but I just want to forget that it happened. It's embarrassing enough as it is. So please, I'm fine." I pleaded closing my eyes.

I didn't want the tears to come and I could feel them rising up to my eyes about to spill over. I took a deep breath trying to control my breathing and hoping that the tension in my chest would go away.

"Okay, I'm just worried about you." He said softly.

I opened my eyes to look at him. I could see the dark green orbs filled with distress.

"I'm fine, Edward. I just don't want to think about it. Let's talk about something else, okay?" I said trying to change the subject.

He nodded his head and we went back to walking toward class. He started asking me about the assignments and talking about homework to get my mind off things. It was always so easy for me to get lost in conversation with him regardless of what we were talking about and what was happening around me.

Not long after talking with Edward, I almost forgot about what happened this morning.

**

* * *

**

As Rose and I headed to lunch, Alice and Jenny cornered us.

"Are you two, okay?" Alice said.

Jenny and Alice eyed us down trying to check to see if we were lying. By this time, I was slightly over this morning and not letting it get to me even though I knew I would go back to my room and cry like a freaking baby but no one had to know that.

"We're fine!" Rose chirped. She was definitely over this morning.

"We just want to make sure that you two aren't upset." Jenny added.

"No, we're just pissed off and ready to get some revenge! And it looks like it is starting right now." Rose smirked looking toward the direction of Lauren's table.

Brian walked by her table carrying a tray with a large plate of spaghetti. In just a matter of seconds, he "accidentally" tripped and fell letting the spaghetti fly toward their table landing all over Lauren and her wannabes.

Her scream echoed loudly in the food court causing everyone to stare. Brian faked looking like he was shocked.

"I am so sorry, Lauren!" It was so obvious he was faking it and not truly sorry.

"You! I hate you! Stay away from me!" She yelled before storming out of the food court with her group in tow. Brian was the only football player that Lauren actually hated.

Luckily, Lauren didn't suspect us being involved but we had to tag it to our scoreboard and give us a point. Rose and I would be getting to her very soon but everyone else insisted on helping in the meantime by making her life a living hell. We didn't object to that.

"Before we get to our table for lunch, you have some explaining to do missy!" Alice shouted causing some students to look at us.

"Can you please stop yelling?!" I pointed my head toward the gawking students.

"Hey! What are you looking at? You're not at the zoo!" Rose yelled. The students turned away immediately afraid of Rose's glare.

"What are you talking about?" I asked Alice.

"About Tanya's article today!" Jenny said.

"And about what happened on Saturday with ice cream! You and my brother looked pretty close yesterday!" Alice chimed in.

I told them about the article and about what happened on Saturday. Alice looked like her eyes were about to pop out of her head.

"FINALLY! It's about freaking time he grew some balls and asked! It's been so long!" She squealed.

_So long? _

"Alice, what you are talking about?" I asked confused.

"Oh, uh, nothing. I'm just glad that Edward decided to man up and ask you out on a date. He can't just sit back and watch Jack win." She said quickly but I knew she was hiding something but she kept referring to the team competition. That was strange.

I hope Edward didn't ask me out on a date just because of this stupid competition. Are guys really that competitive? Maybe. I rolled my eyes at that thought. Now I wasn't sure what to think about the whole Edward-Bella date. Maybe he really didn't want to go on a date with me? That was a buzz kill.

"Oh puh-lease! Jack was not winning! I told you that I never had feelings for him in the first place!" I hissed trying to forget the thoughts that took over my mind.

Jenny asked me more about which team I was leaning more toward. I rolled my eyes at Tanya's stupid team nicknames and decided to tell her about my crush. She had the exact same reaction as Alice and it took the three of us to quiet her down. We were getting stares and I didn't want anyone to overhear what we were talking about.

I was surprised that I wasn't going deaf yet after all the reactions that I've had to sit through. But Jenny told me that she noticed it yesterday at the car wash and was waiting to ask me about it today.

Was it really that obvious? I should probably be more careful. Keyword: should. That doesn't mean that I would.

We walked toward our lunch table, which was now two tables pushed together. We had so many people sitting with us that I was surprised we could fit even with the two tables squished together. I pulled out an empty chair and sat down. I immediately saw Jack pull up a seat to my right. He flashed me a concerned smile, which I gave him a reassuring look that I was fine.

Then I felt someone sit down next to me on my left and looked to my side. It was Edward. My heart started beating quicker and almost stopped when he flashed me a lop-sided grin. I smiled back shyly and saw that his face fell when he noticed who was sitting on the other side of me.

Jack and Edward both gave each other a nod acknowledging each other's presence but didn't speak a word to each other. I felt awkward sitting in between them especially since they still weren't on speaking terms and it was all because of me and this stupid team competition.

This was probably the worst Monday that I have had ever in my entire life.

I looked around the table for some help and saw that Alice was too busy being tied up in all things Jasper. They were both talking to themselves and laughing. Rose was sitting on Emmett's lap and they were kissing. I rolled my eyes. They were definitely not afraid of PDA.

Jenny and Steve were sitting next to each other too engulfed in themselves to notice anything around them. Garrett and Kate were feeding each other. I was starting to feel sick looking at all the lovey dovey couples at our table. What was this the Love Connection? Ugh!

And then here I was stuck with all the other single guys. Brian and Scott were talking and luckily, Jack was talking to Mark.

It seemed like everyone had forgotten all about this morning which was a good sign in public since we had to play it off that we weren't working together to get Lauren back.

"Are you going to be studying for SAT's this week?" Edward asked. I knew he was trying to get my mind off things again which I was thankful for.

"Of course, you know it's like our life depends on that stupid test. And it's this Saturday which is really freaking me out!" I said nervously while eating my lunch.

"Don't worry. I'm sure you'll do fine." He paused for a moment and then said, "Did you need a study partner?"

I thought about it. I would usually study with Jasper but he's been pre-occupied with Alice lately. I knew that I lost my study partner as soon as he got a girlfriend. I was fine with that especially if that meant that I get a new study partner and that partner is Edward Cullen!

"Yeah, Jasper has been pre-occupied lately. Are you okay if we study together?"

I looked at Edward whose face lit up in a bright smile. "Yes, I did ask you if you needed a partner."

"Okay, then, partner! What time did you want to meet to study?" I asked.

"How about at 6pm after my football practice? Is that too late?"

"No, that's fine. I'll meet you at the library at 6pm then."

"Oh, I've been meaning to ask you this but are you going to come to the football team's bonfire on Sunday? We're all heading down to Huntington Beach."

"Um, isn't that only for football players and cheerleaders?" I asked.

"Nah, anyone can come. Alice and Jasper are coming. And I think the guys are planning to prank Lauren again. You won't want to miss that. So how about it?" He asked.

I knew I would go mainly because Edward asked me to but I still looked over at Alice and Jasper who both gave me a nod saying that it was okay. And I couldn't miss out if they were planning to prank Lauren again.

"Sure, I'll go." I said as Edward threw me another heart-stopping smile.

I was never going to get used to those. Then he leaned in closer to me and whispered in my ear.

"I'm really looking forward to Saturday!" as he got up and threw his lunch away.

I sat there speechless as he left. Only five more days until Saturday.

_Help me!!_

_

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**A/N: So now Bella and Emmett will have a question session where a lot of questions will be answered. It won't be for a couple more chapters but it will be a good one! And you'll find out what happened at the football game!**

**Did you like the part where Emmett gets all emotional about Bella? I wanted to show more about their bro-sis bonding. He's a good big brother. And someone had to point out the obvious to the oblivious Bella! **

**I tried really hard to think of a revenge tactic that Lauren would do and this was all I could come up with. I hope you don't think that it sucked big time. I was really stuck on it!! I didn't want to make it really horrible since this is a rating T story but I didn't want to make it like it wasn't a big deal either. So hopefully you think it's worth it for everyone to get revenge on Lauren. Plus, they all hate her anyways so that's why everyone wants to help get revenge. And there will be revenge for Bella and Rose! It will be fun and funny! Go Operation Annihilate Malibu Barbie! **

**Also, Tanya will not be coming into this story that much. She will only be writing the column but that's about it. I know usually she's brought into most stories as an ex-girlfriend or someone who likes Edward but you don't have to worry about her in this story.**

**Sorry that this chapter wasn't as funny but I couldn't make it funny because of what happened. But I guarantee the next chapters will be funny!**

**And are you excited for a bonfire? I used to go to a lot of them in high school and thought it would be good to incorporate it here. It'll be a ton of fun! **

**Next chapter ... E&B's DATE!!!!! It's one of the best chapters and one of my favorites!!!**

**Please Review and Thanks for Reading!!**


	20. First Date

**A/N: Thanks to all of you for the support regarding the last chapter. I was so nervous about it. I think that was one of my worst chapters but I'm so happy to know that you are all so supportive and that you still like this story! **

**I was going to post this up on Thursday and then another update this weekend but I'm traveling again this weekend so lucky you, I'm posting this up today! And then I'll update again on Friday!  
**

**Well, I know that everyone has been waiting for the first date! This is one of my longest chapters too! So read on! I hope it makes you laugh! **

**As for the songs, I was going to name this chapter Blush because of the Plumb song which I think really reflects their feelings for each other. But I wanted to use the Blink 182 song since it's more fun. I hope you like it! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Twilight or Ally McBeal. I do own the storyline and any characters that I make up.**

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**Chapter 20 – First Date**

Songs – First Date by Blink 182 & Blush (Only You) by Plumb

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The rest of the week flew by. I spent most of my free time holed up in the library with Edward. It was great to be able to spend so much time with him even though we were just studying. We got a lot done and it was nice to know someone other than Jasper that was as determined about getting into Stanford as I was.

I didn't let the Lauren incident bother me even though we got a lot of stares and wolf whistles from guys while walking the halls. Luckily someone from the football team was always there to help shield away the stares and stop the whistles. It was part of Emmett's request that Rose and I had someone from the football team escorting us at all times and we didn't want to fight with Emmett on it. He had every right to be protective after what happened.

But I was surprised when it was just Edward that walked me to every single class each day. I knew I was giddy about that fact but I knew he was also doing it because of Emmett's instructions.

Rose and I got new phone numbers on Tuesday so we didn't even bother checking the hundreds of texts and voicemails that we had. And explaining the new numbers to our parents was even more of a hassle but they understood what was happening.

With being so focused on SAT's, I almost forgot that Edward and I had our date on Saturday night. Almost.

How could I even forget that? It's the night that I've been waiting forever for. I was told it was going to be extremely casual. It was Los Angeles after all. So I was jumping up and down when I found out that I could wear casual comfortable clothes. Alice was not happy and tried to convince Edward to change his mind on where he was taking me but he stood his ground. I was surprised how he could do that without giving into her puppy dog look.

He still wouldn't tell me where we were going so I was completely clueless. But I didn't have much time to think about it or be nervous because I was so stressed out from SAT's.

After SAT's were finally over, Alice, Jenny and Rose attacked me and dragged me back to our room to get ready for the date. Not that there was much to get ready for. They just wanted to spend some girl time together so we watched _You've Got Mail_ and _27 Dresses_.

It was getting closer to 7pm now and Alice had just finished curling my hair letting it fall in loose waves. Luckily, I was able to convince them to let me do my own makeup since it was a casual date. I applied lip gloss, mascara and eyeliner.

I threw on a pair of dark skinny jeans and a white camisole with a white Abercrombie sheer peasant top. I grabbed my blue Abercrombie hooded jacket and put on my white ballet flats.

The girls made me do a few twists and turns before giving me the final approval. Then it hit me like a giant wave.

I was going on a date with Edward Cullen!

I froze in place and started shaking and sweating. I couldn't hear what the girls were saying but I could see their mouths opening and closing like they were talking. It was like I was underwater and couldn't hear anything but mumbles. Then I felt a slap on my arm.

"OW!" I jumped.

"She's fine now." Rose said.

"What was that for?" I hissed.

"You were completely zoned out." Jenny said.

"Are you okay? You look a little pale!" Alice said.

"Breathe, Bella, Breathe!" Rose yelled.

"I … just … realized …" I said in between deep breaths and paused.

"That I'm going on a date with Edward! This isn't true. This can't be happening. I'm in a dream, right? Is this a dream? Oh God! What am I going to do? How am I going to handle this? I'm a wreck!" I said heaving.

"Is she going to be okay?" Jenny asked concerned.

Rose looked at her and said, "Yes, this is normal. She does this all the time. We just have to snap her out of it!"

Alice came closer to me and said, "Should I slap her? Do you think that would make her come to?"

"You can try." Rose said.

As Alice raised her arm toward my cheek, I grabbed her hand and said, "I'm fine. I don't need to be slapped! I just need to sit down and breathe."

I said as I let go of Alice and walked toward my desk chair.

"They say that if you put you head in between your legs and breathe, it would help with the anxiety." Jenny said.

We all looked at her giving her curious glances. How did she know that?

"What? I saw it on TV." She said and shrugged her shoulders.

I knew I would look stupid doing this but I needed to calm down. So I sat down in my chair, leaned over and put my head in between my legs and started breathing deeper.

"I'm getting really dizzy. I don't think this is working. And I think I look stupid doing this."

"Bella, just close your eyes and take deep breaths. Concentrate on your breathing. Don't think about anything else." Jenny said soothingly.

I closed my eyes and started focusing on my breathing. I could feel the blood rush to my head and I could hear my heart pounding loudly in my ears. I was completely focused on the breathing that I couldn't really hear what was going on around me. I couldn't sense any movement around me since my hair was covering my vision. I figured Edward still wasn't here yet. The girls would tell me when he would knock on our door.

Then I heard a soft velvet voice. "Bella, are you okay?"

"Gah!" I said as I shot my head up from between my legs.

**WHACK! **

"Ow!" I yelled as I rubbed the top of my head. I hit something very hard.

"Ow!" I heard him yell.

**SHIT! **

What did I do?!

I looked up and saw Edward holding onto his nose with tears coming into his eyes.

**OH. MY. GOD!**

I slammed my head into this nose.

Was he bleeding? Was it broken?

He stood there in pain as I cupped my hands over my mouth in shock. Rose, Alice and Jenny stood there stunned.

"I'm so sorry, Edward!" I said as I jumped up from my chair. I could feel the heat rising in my cheeks. "Are you okay? I'm so sorry! I had no idea you were already here and standing over me."

He rubbed his nose, which was slightly red now and said, "No, I'm fine!"

"Are you sure? I think I hit you pretty hard. Do you need me to take you to the medical center? Are you bleeding? Is it broken?" I asked.

_What a way to start a first date! Only me. I swear this stuff only happens to me. _

"No, no. I'm fine, really. I've had worse while playing basketball. Don't worry about it." He said and gave me a soft smile while still pinching the bridge of his nose.

I wasn't sure what to do. I mean, I could've hurt him really badly. Ugh! I could see it in Tanya's headlines now. Bella Swan hurts Edward Cullen sending him to the emergency room on their first date.

Then he surprised me. He started laughing. And because he was laughing, all of us thought it was okay to laugh as well and joined in.

As soon as the laughter died down, I was able to finally see what he was wearing. He had on dark jeans and sneakers with a white long sleeved button down shirt. He had the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. His hair was tousled and messy like always. I looked at his eyes and they were sparkling. He was also holding a bouquet of mixed colored tulips.

He handed them to me. "These are for you."

I threw him a big smile as I took the flowers and set them on my nightstand. "Tulips are my favorite. How did you know?"

He shrugged his shoulders but had a small smirk. He wasn't going to tell me.

"Are you ready to go?" He asked.

"Yeah," I said as I grabbed my white purse and we headed toward the door.

"See you guys later!" I said as I walked out of the room following Edward. I turned to see Rose, Alice and Jenny giving me huge grins and winking.

As we headed out to the parking lot, we joked around and talked. I apologized again for hitting him in the nose but he wouldn't hear it. There were people who stopped and gawked at us. Some girls started crying and running back to their dorms.

I ignored all of it. I was getting used to it by now.

I had no idea why I was so nervous before. I had come to be so comfortable around him and I think it was just the thought of going on a date that made me nervous.

Then we walked up to his car. He drove a silver Aston Martin Vanquish. It was the first time that I had been in his car. We never really had to drive anywhere because our campus had everything.

As I walked over to the passenger door, I was about to reach for it when I saw his pale hand reach out first in front of me and opened the door. He was always the gentleman. I sat in the car as he closed the door and went over to the driver's seat. It still smelled like a brand new car and it was immaculately clean.

He got into the car and started the engine.

"So are you going to tell me where we are going?" I asked.

"No, you'll see when you get there!" He said.

"Edward you know that I hate surprises!" I huffed.

"I know and I thought I would torture you!" He said and chuckled.

I could hear the song playing over his radio in the car. Once I recognized the song, Edward quickly reached toward the CD player and changed it to a different disc. Blush (Only You) by Plumb filled the car.

"Why did you change the music? Don't get me wrong. I like this song too but I liked that song that was just playing earlier. Sonata in A Major by Mozart is one of my favorites."

His eyes widened. He looked surprised and embarrassed. "You like classical music?" He asked in awe.

"Yes, I told you that I listen to everything."

"Yes, but when you say that to everyone else it just means the normal standard stuff not classical music. It's very rare to find someone who likes classical music." He said.

"Okay then. When I said I listen to everything I really meant that I listen to everything. I've actually been wanting to write something on classical music for my column but everyone on the staff said that people our age don't listen to classical music so I got shot down a couple of times. I gave up fighting for it."

"I would've enjoyed that story."

"Yeah, but you don't make up the entire student body. You're just ASB President but that doesn't give you all the power!" I teased. He turned toward me and flashed me a smile.

We went on talking about music choices even though we already knew we had the same taste in music. We liked all the same bands but he gave me some others that I could look into for my reviews.

He was driving on the 10 freeway now and I could see where we were headed. He parked the car and we got out at the Third Street Promenade. We were walking side by side and I could feel our shoulders brushing against each other.

"Are we going to be eating at _Hooters_?" I asked excitedly.

"No. I would never take you to a place like that." He said looking appalled that I could even ask him that question.

"Why not? I love their chicken wings! Aside from the barely dressed waitresses, it's actually a pretty cool place!" I said with a smile.

"Are you serious? You like _Hooters?_" He asked curiously.

"Yes! Can we go there? Please Edward?! Their cheese breaded wings are to die for!" I begged.

"I am not taking you to _Hooters _on our first date." He said firmly as he rolled his eyes at me.

I laughed. "Fine. Maybe for a second date then!" I teased.

Oh God. Did I really just say that?! Here I was thinking that he would go another date with me when we just started our first date. Kill me now!

Luckily, he didn't seem to mind as he threw me a big smile. Then I realized where we were going. He pushed his hand against the small of my back leading me to _Il Fornaio_.

"I hope you like Italian." He said.

"I love Italian food. This is one of my favorite Italian restaurants!"

We walked into the restaurant and a blond haired blue-eyed model greeted us at the hostess stand. She looked at us and threw a big flirtatious smile at Edward.

It made me want to throw up. He didn't seem to pick up on it.

"We had a reservation under Cullen for two." He told the hostess.

She nodded and grabbed two menus and led us out to a booth at the back of the restaurant. As she set down the menus, she looked Edward up and down before leaving. I sat down across from him and rolled my eyes.

God, did she have to be so obvious?

I opened the menu frustrated that the stupid hostess was pissing me off.

"Is something wrong?" Edward asked.

"No, nothing at all." I said innocently.

Hopefully, he didn't always see through me. I hope I wasn't that transparent. He opened his menu and I swear I saw him smirking.

As soon as I figured out what I wanted to get I set the menu down only to find Edward staring at me.

"You look beautiful tonight." He said sincerely.

I blushed red. I mean I wasn't wearing anything nice. It was just a casual date and he still said I was beautiful. I was screaming inside.

"Thanks! You look pretty good yourself too." I replied sheepishly.

Just then our waiter came, he looked like a college student and had blond hair and brown eyes. He was staring at me in a creepy sort of way and I started getting uncomfortable.

"Hi, I'm Ryan. I'll be your server tonight. And who is this lovely young lady sitting here?" He asked trying to be flirtatious but looked like a sleazy bastard.

Edward ignored him and answered, "We're ready to order," while glaring daggers at him.

Edward pointed to me to go first.

"I'll have the Spinach Ravioli." I said without looking at the waiter.

"I'll have the Florentine Steak."

"Would you like any starters with that?" Ryan asked looking straight at me and ignoring Edward's glares.

"We're fine. Thanks." Edward gritted through his teeth. The waiter finally got the clue that I wouldn't look at him and walked away.

Edward still looked upset so I thought I should speak up to lighten the mood. He was Mr. Mood Swings after all.

"I hope he doesn't spit in our food!" I giggled.

"I'm sure he won't be doing that to your dish. My dish might be a prime target."

"Well, I'm sure I will have plenty to share in case that does happen."

He gave me a smile and I could tell he wasn't upset anymore.

"How about we play twenty questions until the food comes?" He asked.

"Okay."

"I'll go first. What's your favorite color?" He asked.

"Green." I said.

He looked confused. I wasn't sure why. He asked me my favorite color and I told him what it was. Hopefully, he didn't catch on that it was the color of his eyes and that was why it was my favorite.

"Why do you look confused?" I asked.

"Oh. I just thought your favorite color was pink." He replied.

I scrunched up my face like I ate something sour.

Pink. Why would he think I liked pink? I rarely if ever wore pink to school and I didn't own anything that was pink.

"Why on earth would you think th–"

I stopped talking because it hit me. He thought I liked the color pink because of the day that I was sick and practically flashed him. I was wearing my Victoria Secret Pink Underwear that had the words written in pink large lettering "LOVE PINK" plastered across my ass.

"OH MY GOD!" I said loudly causing everyone around us to look at our table. I turned bright red.

"You did see me that day!" I hissed quietly now once everyone turned away.

His eyes went wide and his cheeks flushed pink. He was starting to get flustered since he was clearly embarrassed that I caught him. "N-No. No. I didn't see you."

"Stop lying Edward! I rarely if ever wear anything that's pink and I don't own anything that's pink. That was the only thing I could think of that would make you think that since the flier that Lauren passed out didn't catch my rear end for all to see. This is so embarrassing." I said while I slouched into my seat and started rubbing my temples with my hands.

The hottest guy in school saw my ass flashing him and here he semi-admits it to me but then lies about it. Ugh!

He took a deep breath and then answered. "Please don't be embarrassed. You don't have anything to be embarrassed about. Okay, maybe I caught a quick glimpse and I'm really sorry about that but when those words are so largely written it's hard not to notice it." He said while clearing his throat.

"Oh god! Did you have to rub it in any more?!" I said looking down at my lap. I couldn't look at him now. It was bad enough with the school picture that Lauren posted up but now this. I was so sure he didn't see me that day too. This would definitely go down in the history books as another huge Isabella Swan embarrassment.

He reached over and put his fingers under my chin lifting my head up to meet his gaze.

"Bella, you don't have to be embarrassed. I was the one that walked in on you. You have no idea how embarrassing that was for me. So please don't worry about it." He said sincerely.

I sighed. "Fine. But just know that I am utterly mortified right now no matter what you say."

I paused before going on. "Okay, so my favorite color is green not pink." I restated to him.

"What is your favorite color?" I asked.

"Brown." He said quickly without thinking.

Brown? He never really wore brown. Why would he like brown?

Then he asked me what my favorite ice cream flavor was even though he already knew that from our trip to Baskin Robbins. For the next fifteen minutes, we went back and forth asking each other questions about what our favorite things were.

The waiter came back and brought us our food stopping our back and forth questioning. We started eating and then Edward asked about me about growing up with Emmett.

"Well, there was never a dull moment at the Swan house growing up with Emmett, that's for sure. And then with Rose and Jasper, we became this quirky foursome that would torment our parents with the yelling and screaming and running around like chickens with our heads cut off. We got into a lot of trouble when we were young. In fact, we still get into trouble even now. But Emmett is the best brother I could ever ask for. And Jasper and Rose are both part of my family too. So what can I say, we're like one big happy family." I said giggling.

Edward gave me a smile. "Emmett cares a lot about you and Jasper too. You're really lucky that you have them."

I nodded and gave him a big smile as I went back to eating my food. I stopped when I saw him staring at me.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing." He said sheepishly and went back to cutting his steak.

I sat there thinking for a moment. Why was he staring at me? My hand flew to my mouth.

"OH GOD! I have something in my teeth, don't I?" I asked through my hand.

Edward started cracking up laughing. I was so embarrassed. I was eating spinach. I still had my hand up covering my mouth as I quickly started to rub my tongue against my teeth. I stopped and figured I should get up and go to the restroom to clean myself up.

Of all the embarrassing situations I put myself into. I could imagine myself talking to him and smiling with a giant piece of green spinach stuck on my front tooth. I was started to get up when Edward grabbed my hand.

"Bella, you don't have anything in your teeth." He said through his laughs.

"Then why are you laughing?" I pouted.

"You always surprise me with things that you say and think. I was just not expecting you to think that."

"Well, I am eating spinach."

He laughed a little bit more at me as I scowled at him. I picked up my fork and continued to eat.

"What do your parents do and Jasper and Rose's parents?" He asked.

"My mom, Renee, and dad, Charlie, are architects. They own their own architecture firm. And Jasper and Rose's dad, Henry, is a producer for Warner Brothers while their mom, Carol, is a stay at home mom. Our parents met because Henry asked Charlie to custom design a house for them before they had Jasper and Rose. They ended up becoming fast friends and that was how we all grew up together. And sometimes my dad works on some set designs for Henry's movies."

"That's pretty cool." Edward replied.

We continued chatting about our families and finished eating dinner. I even excused myself to the restroom just to double check that I didn't have any spinach stuck in my teeth. Luckily, I didn't.

We left and walked around the Promenade going in and out of stores and people-watched. We also checked out some street performances. Then we walked toward the Santa Monica Pier.

I saw the ferris wheel and gulped. I was terrified of heights. I hope he wasn't planning on us going on it.

As we walked around, I saw people playing carnival type games. We stopped at a football toss game where of course, Edward had to play. He ended up winning me a medium sized brown stuffed teddy bear. I grabbed onto it as we headed toward the ferris wheel.

"Did you want to go up on the ferris wheel?" He asked.

I paused for a moment. "Um, well, you see. I have a huge phobia of heights. So it wouldn't be good if we go on it."

"Are you sure? I'll be with you the entire time." He asked again.

"Nope. Even if you were with me, I'd still be freaked out and I don't think you want me peeing in my pants."

SHIT! Did I just say that out loud?! I can never seem to control my mouth, can I? UGH!

He laughed. Phew! At least he didn't think I was a freak or something.

"Okay then. Come on, I want to show you something." He said while leading me toward the beach. He had his hand on the small of my back pushing me toward the sand.

The beach was always beautiful. I could see a few couples laying around and looking up at the sky and saw some people jogging on the Strand.

I took my shoes off and threw them in my purse so it was easier to walk. I could hear the waves crashing and it started to remind me of a dream that I had only this was real. Very real. And I was trying hard to contain my excitement that I was really here on a date with Edward.

We walked for a bit until we got to a point where we could see the waves crashing against the sand but was still too far for the water to reach us. Then he sat down and motioned for me to sit next to him. I plopped myself down in the sand.

"You don't mind the sand do you?" He asked.

"No, I love the beach! We go all the time. Jasper and Emmett love to surf so Rose and I usually watch them from the shore."

"Have you tried surfing?"

I looked at him with my eyes wide. "Are you kidding? You've seen how I can hurt myself and other people. Plus, Emmett swore that he wouldn't teach me because he was afraid I might kill myself doing it. I've always wanted to try but I think it's probably better if I stayed on land."

He laughed. "Well, I could teach you if you want. In fact, we're all going surfing tomorrow before the bonfire."

"I don't think Emmett would like that. And honestly, after today's incident, I think it's best that I stayed on land. God knows what else I could do to injure you. You'll probably come back with two black eyes. Thanks though." I said giving him a smile.

He chuckled and I cringed remembering how I hit his nose earlier today.

It was quiet as we sat there listening to the waves. I decided now was a good time to bring up the whole team competition thing. I had to get it off my chest since it was bothering me.

"Edward, can I talk to you about something?"

He turned to look at me. "Yeah, sure. You know you can talk to me about anything, right?"

"Right. Well, this might be difficult to talk about and embarrassing to say the least. Well, you know how Tanya has this whole stupid team competition that she wrote in her column and people are actually wearing those stupid t-shirts."

He nodded for me to continue.

"I just want to let you know that I don't see you as being a competition with Jack. In fact, I wanted to explain that Jack and I are just friends. I know you two were close friends at one point and I'm not sure what happened between you two."

I saw Edward narrow his eyes.

"But I have a feeling it's because of this stupid team thing but honestly, I've told him that I only see him as a friend. He's a great guy but I just don't have feelings for him in that way and I thought you should know or have the right to know so that you guys can work out your differences." I said quickly.

"And I totally understand if you wanted to even up the score by doing this today. I know how guys can get when it comes to competition an–"

He cut off my rambling. "You think I asked you out today because of Tanya's column and the scoreboard she has?" He started raising his voice and I could tell he was starting to get mad.

I gulped. "Well, yeah. I just never expected you to ask someone like me out on a date and assumed it was because of the competition." I looked at my feet.

I couldn't look at him while saying it because it would only confirm it.

He was quiet and I turned to look at him. He was pinching the bridge of his nose and closing his eyes.

Okay, now he really looked upset.

_Good going, Bella! Piss him off why don't you! _

He let go of his nose and turned to look at me. His green eyes boring through my brown eyes.

"Bella, I didn't ask you out today because of the competition. And I don't know why you would think that."

I looked at him and rolled my eyes.

"Come on, Edward. You're the most popular guy in school who is good at everything. And I mean everything. There isn't anything that you're not good at. And I'm just normal and plain and nobody. You should be going out on dates with someone like Lauren."

"Are you serious? You really think I should be going out with someone like Lauren?" He said bitterly.

I was just digging myself into a deeper hole.

"Well, okay let me re-phrase that. Someone in Lauren's league. Like Rose, Kate and Jenny." I said slowly.

"First of all, I would never ever date someone like Lauren. Second, you are not normal and plain and a nobody. You are Isabella Marie Swan. You're beautiful, smart, funny and caring." My face turned a million shades of red as he said those things about me.

_Was I dreaming? _

I pinched myself discreetly so that he couldn't see. Nope, not dreaming.

"And you don't know how long I've waited to ask you to go out with me tonight." He said.

I looked at him and was sure my mouth dropped to the floor.

_How long was he waiting to ask me? _

I was about to ask him but I heard my mom's voice.

_What the? _

"It's your mother calling! It's your mother calling!"

Oh, it was my phone. I frantically searched through my purse looking for my cell. Edward starting laughing at my obnoxious ring tone. I had my mom record that awhile back and never changed it.

_Great timing, MOM!_

I threw an apologetic look at Edward as I picked up the call. He smiled back at me and looked back at the ocean.

"Hi Mom." I said sounding annoyed on the phone. I knew it wasn't her fault her timing was so bad.

"Hi Honey! How are you? I haven't heard from you or Emmett lately and wanted to check in with you. Where are you right now?" She chirped into the phone.

"I'm out with someone right now in Santa Monica." I said hesitantly trying to let her get the clue that now was not a good time to talk.

"Oh really? Are you with a guy? Is it a date? Who is it? You haven't told me that you were seeing someone. Thank God! I thought you had hidden feelings for Jasper and I knew he only saw you as a sister. I didn't want you to get your heart crushed." My mom kept rambling into the phone. I was sure that Edward could hear her as I heard him snort next to me.

Even my mom thought that I liked Jasper. UGH!

"Mom, you know I only think of Jasper as a brother. And now is not a good time to talk. Can I call you back later?"

"Oh, good. I was worried for a bit there. Come on, Honey. You can tell me more about this guy you're with. Is he cute? What's he li–"

"PPPSSSH, Mom … Mom … PSSSH … I can't hear you. Bad reception. I'll call you back later. Bye!" I said quickly and hung up the phone.

Edward laughed.

"I'm so sorry about that. My mom can be so nosy at times." I said as my cheeks lit on fire. Apparently he heard the entire conversation.

"Don't worry about it. My mom is like that too."

After that we sat in silence looking at the waves and chatted here and there about nothing important. It was getting late and I didn't realize that we had sat and talked for close to three hours. Time always flew by when I was with him because it was always like our own little world. Just him and me.

I shouldn't even by saying that! I'm getting way too ahead of myself!

"It's getting late. We should head back." He said. I nodded.

He got up from the sand and stuck out his hand to help me up. I grabbed it feeling the familiar tingle shoot up my arm and got up from the sand. I let go of his hand to brush the sand off my jeans.

We walked back to his car and the next thing I knew we were already at school in the parking lot. As he turned off the car, he ran outside and opened the door for me so I could get out.

We slowly walked back toward my dorm building. I didn't want the time to end but I wasn't sure if he felt the same.

Well, he did say that he was waiting for a long time for this date to happen but what if it didn't go the way he wanted it or if he thought I was boring.

I was getting nervous and could feel the butterflies growing larger in my stomach. I haven't felt this way for awhile now and it was starting to bother me.

I could see people staring at us but Edward made a few jokes causing me to laugh as we walked. That helped me ignore all the stares.

We stopped right in front of the door to my dorm building. I wasn't sure what to do.

Do I hug him? Kiss him on the cheek? What do I say to the man of my dreams (literally!) and after our first date?

He leaned in to give me a hug. So I hugged him back.

"Thanks Edward. I had a really good time tonight." I said smiling at him as we stepped out of our hug.

"I had a great time too." He beamed at me.

Well, he didn't say anything about asking me out again. So maybe this was a one-time thing. I could feel my heart dropping into my stomach at that thought.

"So I was, uh, wondering …" He was nervous. He ran a hand through his messy hair.

"Hmmm …" I said.

"Would you go out with me again some time? You know if you're not busy." He said. I could tell he was trying to create a backup plan in case I said no to him.

Who the hell would say no to Edward Cullen?!

"I'm never too busy for you."

Oh SHIT! Did I really say that out loud?!

My face turned bright red as he chuckled. "Oh, um. I mean sure. I would really really like that." I said. He flashed me my favorite smile.

He grabbed a strand of my hair and pushed it behind my ear. He leaned in and I wasn't sure if he was going to kiss me on the lips or what. I had dreamed of that for the longest time and wasn't sure if it was going to happen today.

Would my first real kiss really be today? I mean, sure I kissed a boy in 4th grade but I didn't count that. My mind started reeling and thoughts were running through my head.

What do I do? What if he thinks I suck at kissing and never wants to kiss me again? What if he runs away screaming? I hope I don't have garlic breath, that wou–

Then he leaned down lower breaking all my thoughts and concentration. He turned his head as he kissed my cheek lingering there a little longer than normal.

Okay, so no kiss but still I was happy about this more than anything.

"Good Night, Bella." He said.

"Good Night, Edward." I said as he turned around and walked back to his dorm.

I walked into the building and up to my room. I felt like I was floating on air. I could see stars forming in my eyes. As I reached my door, it flung open and Rose dragged me inside.

I sighed dreamily and walked toward my bed, placing the brown bear near my pillow. I don't know how long I was out for but finally I felt someone slap my arm.

"OW!" I yelled.

"See, you got it!" Rose beamed to Jenny.

"Why did you do that?" I asked Jenny while rubbing my arm.

"Because you were out of it for the past five minutes." Jenny said.

"We kept calling your name and waving our hands in front of you. And you kept staring at the bear. It looks like someone had a good time. What's with the bear?" Alice chirped.

"What happened?" Rose said.

"Did he kiss you?" Jenny asked.

"Geez, it's Saturday night. Don't you guys have something better to do than spy on me?" I said.

"NOPE! We all came back from our dates early tonight. You've been out for awhile and we saw you two downstairs. Really cute, by the way so spill!" Rose said.

I went into all the details of the date skipping the part about my favorite color. They did not need to know that Edward peeped at me while I was sick. I didn't want to know what sort of jokes they would come up with and let alone tell Emmett who would have a field day with it.

By the time I was done, the girls were smiling happily at me. I could only beam back because I knew I was happy and giddy inside.

"I'm still so confused. It seems like he still thinks of me as a friend." I said sounding bemused.

The girls looked at me like I was the loch ness monster.

"Are you crazy?!" Rose said.

"He doesn't think of you as a friend. If he did, he wouldn't ask you out again!" Jenny said.

"Are you sure? I might've screwed up today with my rambling and assumptions. And when we said good-bye it seemed more friendly than anything else." I sighed.

I wished he did kiss me on the lips. I started imagining it and drifting off before I felt Alice grabbing onto my shoulders shaking me.

"Listen, Bella, you have nothing to worry about. Edward has always been shy and awkward when it comes to girls."

"Really?" Jenny, Rose and I said at the same time. Obviously we were all surprised about this fact.

Alice rolled her eyes as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Yes. He is. But I do know that he definitely doesn't think of you as a friend. Trust me, I should know. I'm his sister. And if I'm 100% sure of something, it is that Edward is on cloud nine right now!" Alice squealed with a twinkle in her eye.

I hoped she was right.

"You're really not that experienced in this boy stuff, are you?" Jenny asked.

I nodded my head no. "Like I told you, I've only had a crush on Edward this whole time and never dated anyone here until this year with Jack and Edward. And Jasper was my only friend here and I can't talk to him about this stuff. So I have no idea what or how to decipher all this craziness! It's all new to me!"

They laughed at me.

"Don't worry. That's why you have us now!" Alice said while wrapping her arm around my shoulder.

I felt relieved knowing that I could talk girl stuff with them. It was fun and uplifting. I knew that I wouldn't have to bother Jasper with all my questions. He would just feel uncomfortable about it.

After a few more minutes of girl talk, Jenny and Alice left. I changed into my pajamas and headed into bed. As I slipped under the covers, I saw Rose getting into her bed as well.

Once the lights were off, I closed my eyes and started drifting off to sleep while clutching the brown bear to my chest. I was close to drifting off but not before I heard Rose whisper, "I told you Bella. I was right all along." I could practically feel her smile before I knocked out.

* * *

**A/N: What did you think? Did you like the date?! I'm saving their first kiss for another chapter that will make you really happy so don't kill me yet!**

**And how did Edward know what her favorite flowers were? Hmmm ... **

**I love Hooters! They really do have the best chicken wings! **

**What did you think about the spinach being stuck in her teeth? Hahaha ... I had to throw that in! And of course the part where she's all nervous and hits him in the face. I thought that was funny too! Has anyone ever tried doing that? I have and I swear it makes the blood rush to your head and you can't really hear anything around you but it doesn't calm you down though. I just made it up to throw in here!  
**

**What did you think about Peeping Edward and the Pink underwear?! I LOVED that part! If anyone is familiar with this underwear you know that each one always has Love Pink on them! And of course, Edward would look ... come on, all guys are horny pervs no matter how much they deny it!  
**

**And what about Bella's phone call with Renee? Who hasn't done that before to their mom? I know I have! Oh and the idea of the ring tone, I actually got from a co-worker who had her hubby record a ring tone on her phone saying "You're husband is calling!" ... Trust me, I cracked up laughing when I heard it in the office.  
**

**And the biggest question, how long has Edward been waiting to ask her out on a date? You will find out in due time my friends.**

**And of course, I had to throw in that Bella is still all new to the guy thing since she was always with Jasper and had really no other close friends. Now that she has girl friends she has to bond and what better bonding than talking about guys? **

**Next Chapter ... BONFIRE! More good stuff coming! **

**Please Review and Thanks for Reading! **


	21. Surfin' Safari

**A/N: Thanks all of you who reviewed and added this to your alerts! You guys just keep making me happier and happier by the minute! **

**So I'm glad that everyone liked the date and thought it was funny! I mean there had to be some funny moments included, right?! **

**Here is the bonfire chapter! Lots of fluffy goodness! I hope you enjoy it! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Twilight or Ally McBeal. I do own the storyline and any characters that I make up.**

* * *

**Chapter 21 – Surfin' Safari**

Songs – Surfin' Safari & Surfing USA by the Beach Boys, Collide by Howie Day, and More Than Words by Extreme

* * *

Alice, Rose, Jenny, Kate and I were loading the trunk of my Audi SUV with towels, beach chairs and beach umbrellas. Stacy, Carrie, Annie and Janet were loading up Stacy's Range Rover.

The guys had already left for the beach earlier to give them more time to surf. Evidently, us girls were in charge of bringing the food and firewood. Luckily, we didn't have to bring the BBQ grill. They saved that for Scott's pick up truck.

After we loaded the cars, we started driving down to Huntington Beach. It was one of the few beaches in LA that was a good surfing beach and had bon fire pits. On the way down, we stopped by _Costco _buying a ton of food. We did have to feed the entire football team and we all know how much they can eat. Then we stopped by a local market to pick up firewood. We got a lot of stares and it was probably because we were a large group of girls dressed in skimpy beach clothes and all of _them_ looked like models. Notice the emphasis on them and not me.

As we parked our cars, we started unloading everything to the two bonfire pits that the football team had already claimed for the day. The boys that didn't go surfing came out to help us unload. By the time we were done setting up our location, I finally got a chance to plop down on my beach chair, which was facing toward the ocean.

"I'm so tired! I wonder where the guys are at." I said while applying sunblock. I was wearing my dark green and dark blue halter bikini top and navy blue board shorts and my Gucci sunglasses. My hair was tied back in a messy bun.

Rose and Jenny were already lying face up on their towels basking in the sun. Alice was sitting next to me in another chair reading _Teen Vogue_. I could see the other girls settling around in their chairs and towels.

I started scanning the ocean and saw a bunch of people out surfing. It would be almost impossible to figure out who was who this far away. We had a small radio and luckily, someone brought CD's.

_Let's go surfin' now_

_Everybody's learning how_

_Come on and safari with me_

_Come on and safari with..._

_Early in the morning we'll be startin' out_

_Some honeys will be coming along_

_We're loading up our Woody_

_With our boards inside_

_And headin' out singing our song_

As the Beach Boys song blared loudly from the radio, I tried to focus on finding the guys out in the ocean.

_Come on (surfin') baby wait and see (surfin' safari)_

_Yes I'm gonna (surfin') take you surfin' (surfin' safari)with me_

_Come along (surfin') baby wait and see (surfin' safari)_

_Yes I'm gonna (surfin') take you surfin' (surfin' safari)with me_

I blinked and then it was like I was in some sort of 1960's beach party.

I looked around me and saw everyone dancing random swim moves like the snorkel and doing the twist. I saw Rose and Alice wearing 60's swimsuits along with everyone else. I looked down and saw that I was wearing a red 60's bikini. My hair was short and tied into two small pigtails.

_Let's go surfin' now_

_Everybody's learning how_

_Come on and safari with me_

_Come on and safari with..._

_At Huntington and Malibu_

_They're shooting the pier_

_At Rincon they're walking the nose_

_We're going on safari to the islands this year_

_So if you're coming get ready to go_

Then I saw Edward running up to us with his surfboard. Water dripping from his chest as it glistened in the sun. His copper hair wet from the water and slightly covering his eyes. He gave me his crooked smile as he sat down next to me on my towel. His leaned down so that his face was close to mine.

I instinctively threw my arms around his neck and brought him closer to me. I wanted to kiss him so badly.

"How was it, Moondoggie?" I asked.

_Come on (surfin') baby wait and see (surfin' safari)_

_Yes I'm gonna (surfin') take you surfin' (surfin' safari) with me_

_Come along (surfin') baby wait and see (surfin' safari)_

_Yes I'm gonna (surfin') take you surfin' (surfin' safari) with me_

_(Surfin' Safari – The Beach Boys)_

"BEL-LA!" I heard Alice calling my name. I shook my head snapping myself out of my daydream. I looked around again and everyone was wearing normal beach clothes.

Phew! Good thing Edward wasn't here when this happened.

God, I must really want to see him in his swimming trunks again. And I think I've been more than dying to want to kiss him. Ugh, I'm so pathetic.

"Are you okay?" Alice asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I answered feeling the pink in my cheeks.

"Who's Moondoggie?" Alice laughed.

Opps! Did I really say it out loud? Damn it!

"Oh … uh, I was just thinking about _Gidget_." I replied sheepishly.

"Gi, What?" Alice scrunched up her face.

"_Gidget._ You know the TV show and movie they used to have in the 1960's about a girl and her friends who like to surf?"

Alice looked like I was talking in alien language.

"Nevermind." I huffed.

That was my cue to find the guys. After all, I was dreaming about Edward, it was probably a sign that I wanted to see him in person.

"I'm going to take a walk. Have fun!" I said getting up from my chair and walking toward the ocean.

As I got closer to the water, I could see the surfers closer now. I spotted Emmett, which wasn't hard since he's so huge. He was sitting on his board next to Jasper. I could see they were talking. They looked over to me and I waved. They waved back.

I tried looking around for Edward. I saw a huge wave coming and saw someone riding it. I could recognize that auburn cooper colored hair anywhere. I stood there for awhile watching him surf. He was really good but then again he's good at everything. No surprise there.

After a few more waves, he looked over at where I was standing and waved. I smiled waving back. He was so cute.

I sighed and started walking along the beach kicking the sand and feeling it between my toes. I loved walking along the beach. It was such a great way to clear your mind so you can really think.

I really hoped that Edward liked me. I mean he did ask me on a second date and the girls all said that was a good sign. But I was still unsure and I think it was because I would never be for sure until the words came out of his own mouth.

And then I started thinking about Homecoming. That was the bigger question that plagued my mind. It was next weekend and I still had no clue who my date was going to be. I thought that maybe it was Mark since Alice was his partner in gym but I wasn't for sure. When I asked Alice about it she laughed it off and still wouldn't tell me. Not that I would mind going with Mark. He was a nice guy and we were friends. It just wasn't Edward. My heart sank realizing that thought.

I knew in the past that Edward went to all the dances because he had to since he was always involved with ASB not to mention that he was always nominated for King of everything. But he never brought a date to any of the dances. I read in Tanya's article that it was because he was too busy with trying to make sure the dances ran smoothly. I knew that a lot of girls asked him but he politely declined each time or so that was what Tanya reported.

**GAH! **

I felt my legs go out from under me as I was hoisted over a guy's shoulder cave man style. And not just some random guy, I knew it was Edward just by his touch.

I screamed and started struggling.

"Edward! Put me down!" I yelled while lightly pounding my arms against his back. I was already wet from being pressed against him since he was wearing a black Billabong short-sleeved wetsuit jacket and black board shorts. He laughed.

"Not yet!" He sang while bringing me closer to the water.

"EDWARD! DO NOT THROW ME IN!" I screamed and this time I tried to shake my legs but he grabbed onto them so that I couldn't move.

He walked deeper into the water as it came up to his thighs.

"EDWARD!" I warned.

I looked up to see Jasper, Emmett, and Scott laughing at me. I threw them a help-me look but they ignored it.

Great. I was really going to get thrown in. I closed my eyes and cringed preparing to feel the freezing cold water hit me.

Just as he was getting ready to throw me out he changed my position so that I was sitting in his arms bridal style.

I slowly opened my eyes and looked around and then looked up at him. He had a smirk on his face and I could see a slight glow in his eyes.

Why did he always have to be so gorgeous?

_Focus Bella! No time for dreaming now! _

"Edward! That was mean!" I said.

"So now I'm being mean by not throwing you in? Okay, then." He said while slowing letting go of his grip. I gripped my arms harder around his neck.

"Oh no you don't! You are bringing me back to dry land buddy!" I ordered. He laughed.

"Yes, Ma'am!" He replied and started walking back toward the beach holding onto me.

"So how was su–"

**SPLASH! **

I screamed and hugged myself closer to Edward as icy cold water hit me. It was freaking freezing!

A huge wave hit us splashing both of us all over. I even got salt water in my mouth.

**YUCK! **

I started spitting out the water as Edward laughed. We looked back at Emmett, Jasper and Scott and they were practically on the floor laughing at us. I started laughing too but still pouted at Edward for getting me wet.

As we got closer to them, he still didn't let go. We stood there staring at each other as he was smiling at me. I'm sure I had the cheesiest smile plastered on my face. I felt myself getting lost in the green of his eyes.

Emmett coughed and cleared his throat bringing us back to reality.

I could feel my face flushing bright red for getting caught. I didn't want to let go of him. I wanted to grip on harder but I don't think he would appreciate that. He slowly let go of my legs and placed me on the floor.

"So how was surfing?" I asked untying my hair. It fell loose around my shoulders as I started to wring the water out of my hair. I caught Edward staring at me but ignored it as I tied my hair back up into a bun.

"It was good. There were some nice waves today." Jasper answered. Scott and Edward nodded in agreement.

"Let's go back to the bonfire pit. I'm hungry!" Emmett whined while patting his stomach.

We headed back to the pit and they set their boards in the sand. I saw them walk off to get changed. I grabbed a towel to dry myself.

Rose eyed me and asked, "What happened Bella? Why are you soaked?"

My cheeks flushed pink. "Edward was carrying me and a wave hit us."

"OOOOHHH … you'll have to tell us more later," Alice whispered in my ear as she ran past me to hug Jasper.

I could see some of the other guys grilling the hot dogs and hamburgers. Then I saw Lauren and her friends at the other pit glaring at me. I ignored the death glares and knew she would be getting what was coming to her soon.

I put on a gray hoodie and sat down in my beach chair. After a few minutes, I felt Alice's chair shift next to me. I looked to my right and saw Edward. He changed and was now wearing a grey t-shirt with his black board shorts.

"Sorry about earlier. I really didn't mean to get you wet." He said sincerely.

"Eh, who knew that a huge wave was coming from behind you? But I do admit that it was pretty funny." We laughed.

"Are you hungry?" He asked.

"Nope. Not yet."

"Come on, I want to show you something." He got up from his chair and reached out his hand pulling me up.

He didn't let go of my hand, which made me smile even bigger. Alice and Jenny threw me big grins as we walked past them.

It was starting to get a little dark as I followed Edward to an area that had a bunch of large brown rocks that jutted out into the ocean.

"Edward, are you sure we should go up there? Or I mean if I should go up there? It looks dangerous." I gulped.

"Don't worry about it. I'll make sure that you don't fall."

He started climbing over the rocks and held my hand the entire time guiding me. I was scared I was going to slip since some of the rocks were wet.

"Relax, Bella. I'm holding onto you. You won't fall. I promise." He said.

I could tell he sensed my hesitation or my extremely sweaty hand might've given it away. God, I hoped he didn't think it was gross.

As we climbed to a flat rock surface he sat down pulling me down to sit next to him. The scene in front of me was amazing. You could see the sun about to set against the ocean horizon. The sky was filled with orange, purple and blue colors.

I gasped. "Edward, this is amazing!"

"Isn't it? I love coming up here after a day of surfing or whenever I'm at the beach just to see the sun set." He said with the twinkle in his eye that he would get whenever he was exited about something.

"It's really beautiful!" I said smiling at him.

He smiled back at me. He looked like he was about to say something but stopped himself. I went back to staring at the sunset.

It seemed like the most romantic setting but here I was with one of my closest friends who I secretly was obsessed with. Yes, I'm finally admitting that I am obsessed.

I sighed. I'm so pitiful.

"What was that about?" He turned and looked at me.

_Damn, he heard me. _

"Oh, nothing."

"What were you thinking about?" He pressed on not satisfied with my answer.

"Just how different things are for me this year." I said vaguely hoping he wouldn't ask for details. It was slightly true I just didn't elaborate. I was sure as hell not going to profess my feelings to him and let my infatuation known.

I could see him thinking for a minute before he spoke. "You know, I really wish that I could know what is going on inside your head right now."

_Yeah, RIGHT! You'd probably run away screaming._

"I'm sure you're going to find out all about the quirky and craziness that is Bella Swan and then you're going to wonder why I'm not in the looney bin." I said.

He gave me a frown but looked like he was trying to suppress a laugh. "Why would you think that?"

"Because even I'm freaked out by how my mind works sometimes. Especially with the extremely wild and wacky imagination that I have." I laughed.

He thought for a moment and then smiled at me. "Well, I do see you pinching yourself a lot."

YIKES!

He saw me doing that? Well, I know he caught me a few times but I didn't think he saw it a lot. I thought no one ever saw me.

I could feel my cheeks turning pink. "Well, you have good eyes then because I didn't think anyone else noticed."

He was about to say something but we heard Alice calling our names. We turned to see Alice and Jasper walking hand in hand.

"Hey you two! Time for dinner!" Alice yelled and then they turned walking back toward the fire pit.

I was not surprised that we could hear her from where we were at. She was always so loud.

"Looks like it's time to go. My stomach needs food now. What about you?" I said.

"Yeah, me too. Let's head back."

Edward stood up and grabbed my hand leading me over the rocks and back to the beach. We walked back joking and laughing about Alice and her bubbly personality.

We walked toward the bonfire pit, which was already lit now. I'm sure the guys had a great time setting that on fire, especially Emmett.

What is with guys and fire? I swear they are all secretly pyros!

Everyone was sitting around on various blankets and towels eating dinner. Since there were two fire pits, our friends were mainly gathered around one while the other was crowded by Lauren and her friends with Mike and his group of friends. Jessica Stanley and her friends were there too and I could see her eyeing Jasper. I didn't think she would do anything but I'd have to remind Alice to keep a watch on her.

As we got closer to the pit, I could see all of our friends staring at us with huge smiles on their faces. Lauren was glowering at me.

What was everyone staring at?

I looked down and saw that we were still holding hands. Apparently, we didn't let go since we finished getting off the rocks. Edward looked at them too but this time he didn't let go which made my heart soar.

We made our way to the grill and picked up some hamburgers and hot dogs. We sat by the fire and chatted with everyone while finishing up our food.

Once everyone was done eating, we all plopped back down around the fire pit. It was pitch black now except for the light emanating from the bonfires around us.

Edward sat down next to me. Rose, Emmett, Jenny and Steve were roasting smores. I saw that Jack and Stacy looked cozy sitting next to each other. Jack caught me eyeing them and gave me a big smile. I knew that meant that he moved on and I was glad. I think Edward noticed as well. I could sense him relaxing next to me.

Thank God! Hopefully their feud was over.

Jasper and Alice were cuddled up under a blanket and looking up at the stars. Kate was sitting in Garrett's lap as he whispered into her ear. Carrie, Annie and Janet were talking with Mark and Scott.

Then I heard a high-pitched nasally scream that I only recognized from one person. We looked over to the other bonfire pit and saw Lauren jumping up and down trying to itch herself all over.

What was going on?

I looked back at our pit and saw Brian and Scott smirking at each other. So this was their prank. Hmmm …

"Lauren, what is it?" One of her friends asked in a high-pitched fake voice.

Why do girls like to fake their voices? Does it really make them look cute or sexy? I think it makes them look like stupid idiots.

"There's sand crabs all over me!" She yelled and screamed while flailing her arms around herself.

"God, Lauren! You don't have to share with everyone your personal STD problem!" Brian yelled out.

"Like we want to know!" Scott added.

Lauren glared at Brian and Scott before running to the restrooms. Everyone laughed even the people that she was sharing a fire pit with. I thought I saw her group of friends trying to hide their laughter. I knew she was horrible to them as well and extremely bossy.

After the laughter died down, I saw Brian taking out an acoustic guitar from a case. He always seemed like such a prankster and goofball that I was surprised that he was into music.

"Brian, you play the guitar?" I asked.

"Yeah." He replied throwing me a big goofy smile.

"How long have you played for?"

"About 7 years now."

Then Emmett cleared his voice and pretended to sound like an announcer. "And now, we will be enjoying the musical sounds of Brian White."

"I don't just sing by myself so once you recognize the song, please sing with me." Brian pleaded.

Everyone quieted down as he began strumming. And then he started to sing.

_The dawn is breaking_

_A light shining through_

_You're barely waking_

_And I'm tangled up in you_

_Yeah_

_I'm open, you're closed_

_Where I follow, you'll go_

_I worry I won't see your face_

_Light up again_

_Even the best fall down sometimes_

_Even the wrong words seem to rhyme_

_Out of the doubt that fills my mind_

_I somehow find_

_You and I collide_

_(Collide – Howie Day)_

People started joining in and singing with him. Once he was done, we all clapped. He was really good. I heard snickers coming from Lauren as she came back from the restrooms.

It was started to get colder now and I shivered.

"Here use this. You're cold." Edward said wrapping a blanket around the both of us.

Yes, the both of us. Not just me.

I wanted to jump up and down but had to hold it in and remain seated. Hands to self.

God, I felt like I was on a _Disneyland_ ride. I swear I could hear the safety announcement repeating in my head over and over again in English and Spanish!

Then he did something that I wasn't expecting at all. He rested his arm around my shoulder and left it there. I thought I heard Lauren making a fuss but ignored it.

I could feel the butterflies flying around in my stomach. I secretly pinched myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming.

_Remain seated and hands to self. Don't get ahead of yourself, Bella! Don't freak out! Stay calm! _

I had to keep telling myself that. It was so hard to have this self-control with him sitting so close to me and with his arm wrapped around me.

I'm sure my face looked like a deer caught in headlights. Rose gave me a smirk and went back to making smores. Emmett wriggled his eyebrows and looked away. Then Brian started playing another familiar song as everyone began to sing.

_Saying I love you_

_Is not the words I want to hear from you_

_It's not that I want you_

_Not to say, but if you only knew_

_How easy it would be to show me how you feel_

_More than words is all you have to do to make it real_

_Then you wouldn't have to say that you love me_

_Cause I'd already know_

I felt Edward tighten his grip around me pushing me closer to him. I leaned my head against his shoulder and felt dizzy breathing in his intoxicating scent.

_What would you do if my heart was torn in two_

_More than words to show you feel_

_That your love for me is real_

_What would you say if I took those words away_

_Then you couldn't make things new_

_Just by saying I love you_

_(More than Words – Extreme)_

I sat there savouring the time I had to be able to sit so close to him. I could hear him singing softly and his voice was mesmerizing. After a few more songs, and even singing Kumbaya, we all laughed.

I haven't had this much fun in a long time. Once we were done singing, Emmett cleared his throat for attention.

"Now, it's scary story time!" Emmett rubbed his hands together with an evil grin. I groaned into Edward's shoulder.

"What's wrong?" Edward asked.

"Emmett has the scariest stories. I hate it when he tells stories."

"It's okay. I'm here." He said wrapping his arm tighter around me. I didn't know if it would help but his words made me melt into a puddle.

"Everyone huddle together." Emmett said as everyone sat closer to the fire.

Then he changed his voice so that it was deep and low. He started talking softly as we huddled closer to hear him.

"This is a story about Tillie. Tillie and her mother and father live in a big house with no electricity. Tillie must go to bed but can't leave a candle on for fear of fire. She gets ready for bed but isn't really tired so she plays some games by talking to her imaginary friend, Fred. Then Tillie hears the creak of the first step on the stairs to her bedroom and a voice that whispers softly, "Tillie, I'm on the first step.""

Emmett changed his voice to go along with the story. I saw everyone leaning closer to him.

"At first she thinks it's her father, but that's not his voice." He paused.

"Tillie, I'm on the second step," Emmett said a little louder.

"Must be her mother to read her a story, but that's not her mother's voice." He paused.

"Tillie, I'm on the third step." Emmett said a little louder in an eerie voice.

"Tillie, I'm on the fourth step." He said again a little louder than before and with a higher pitch.

Then he paused. "Tillie, I'm at your door."

I tensed up and felt Edward grip me tighter.

"Creeeeeak, the door opens."

He paused a little longer. "Tillie, I'm at the foot of your bed."

"Tillie, I have a hold of your covers."

"Tillie, I…"

"Just then Tillie threw back her covers! … BOO!" Emmett yelled.

All the girls screamed including me. I jumped grabbing onto Edward's shirt and buried my face into his chest.

I heard the boys laughing and then heard Emmett's booming laughter. I looked up and saw my brother rolling on the floor as all the girls were clinging to the guys.

Once I realized the position that I was in, I quickly let go of Edward's shirt.

"Oh, um. Sorry about that." I muttered shivering.

Edward rubbed his hand up and down my arm. "It's okay. I didn't think you'd be that scared but I think I'm deaf now!" He said rubbing his ear.

I laughed. "I'm so sorry. Emmett always has a way of freaking me out when it comes to his scary stories."

I glared at my brother while he shrugged his shoulders and had a smirk on his face. Rose smacked the back of his head.

"I think it's time to go. The beach closes in 15 minutes." Scott said standing up.

We all stood up gathering our things and cleaned up. Edward was walking back with me to the car when Rose came by and said, "Edward, can I ride with Emmett on the way back? You can ride with Bella since she drove me here." She threw me a sly smile and I knew she was up to no good.

Edward responded to Rose and said, "Sure."

We started loading all the cars and then Alice came over and told me that she was riding back with Jasper. Eventually, Jenny and Kate caught rides with others and it was just the two of us left in my car.

Could it have been any more obvious?

"Did you want me to drive back? It's a long way?" Edward offered.

"Okay." I said while giving him my keys.

He started driving and following Emmett's car. I thought I would fall asleep on the way home but we ended up chatting and laughing the entire ride back, which was almost an hour. It flew by quickly being that we were so engrossed in talking to each other. It was always like that when we were together.

Once we got into the school parking lot, we could see people unloading their cars. I turned to my left to unbuckle my seatbelt and saw that Edward wasn't moving. He looked deep in thought.

"Edward, are you okay?" I asked.

He turned to look at me snapping himself out of his thoughts.

"I'm fine. I'm just thinking about something." He smiled.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked.

He took a deep breath and paused. "Yeah, I've been wanting to tell you this for a long time now and I'm not sure what you think. But right now I'm going to take a leap." He rubbed the back of his neck with his hand.

I gulped. What did he want to tell me?

"Bella, I reall–"

**BAM!**

I screamed and jumped in my seat as I grabbed onto my chest. My heart was pounding heavy against it. I turned to look out the window and saw Emmett pointing at us and laughing. My stupid brother pounded the window with his fist to scare us on purpose.

I rolled down the window yelling at him. "EMMETT!"

Rose slapped him as he pouted at her.

"You should have seen your faces?! That was classic!" Emmett howled.

I ignored him rolling the window up and turned to face Edward.

"I'm so sorry about my 8-year old brother. What were you saying?"

"Never mind. It wasn't anything important." He gave me a fake smile.

I could tell he was lying but didn't want to push him any further. He would tell me when he's ready. I just wish I knew what it was. It sounded really important.

Was this the friends talk I was waiting for all this time? I hoped it wasn't. I kept getting mixed signals and wasn't sure what he wanted. The entire night he didn't act like he wanted to be friends. It seemed like he wanted something more. I was so confused.

I got out of the car and went to unload my things as I glared at Emmett.

Sometimes having him as a brother was either a blessing or a curse.

_Thanks for ruining my great night, stupid brother!_

_

* * *

_

**A/N: So what was Edward going to tell Bella?! You'll just have to wait to find out. You'll find out very soon! *Hint Hint* Did you like the E&B interaction? So cute!**

**Has anyone ever seen Gidget? I used to watch it when I was a kid. I know the Gidget daydream was sort of random but I wanted to stick to the roots of her having her crazy daydreams and I haven't done one for awhile. So I thought it was a good opportunity with the bonfire and being at the beach. Plus, I think the name Moondoggie just makes me laugh for some reason so I thought it would be funny to incorporate it in here.**

**And I loved the comment about Disneyland. Are you all familiar with the safety announcement they say on al the rides? Hahaha ... **

**And for now, little things will be done to Lauren but don't worry there will be some big revenge stuff coming. **

**Sorry this was mainly fluffy but needed a barrier before the next chapter. **

**Next Chapter ... Bella and Emmett's Dinner and HOMECOMING! I know everyone is waiting for this!!!! Lots of questions will be answered. **

**And who will Bella's date be? Hmmm ... Am I naughty or nice? **

**Please Review and Thanks for Reading!!**


	22. Dream a Little Dream of Me

**A/N: WOW! So I got a record number of reviews the last chapter and a bunch more alerts! I'm so glad you are all liking the story! Thanks for all the support! It really keeps me going! **

**So here is the chapter that everyone has been waiting for ... HOMECOMING! I really really love this chapter. Just because I could imagine the scene in my head and tried my best to be as descriptive as possible. I also included all the dresses and samples of 1940's hairstyles in my profile. Again, I don't swing dance and I did most of my research online so if it's wrong below, I apologize in advance. **

**This chapter also has Emmett & Bella's dinner. Hopefully, it answers all the questions. Read on!**

**Oh and if you find the Dream a Little Dream of Me song version by Ella Fitzgerald & Count Basie, it's really beautiful. I love it! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Twilight or Ally McBeal. I do own the storyline and any characters that I make up.**

* * *

**Chapter 22 – Dream a Little Dream of Me**

Songs – Dream a Little Dream of Me by Ella Fitzgerald & Count Basie, Sing, Sing, Sing by Benny Goodman, Shout and Feel It by Count Basie, In the Mood by Glenn Miller, and Somebody Loves Me by Peggy Lee

* * *

"Okay, Emmett. Are you ready for my questions?" I asked my brother who was sitting across from me at _Chipotle_. It was Monday night and we were having our brother-sister dinner.

"Shoot, squirt!" He said while eating one of his three burritos.

I'd feel sorry for Jasper later tonight. I was thankful I didn't have to share a room with him. Oh well, not my problem!

"Question one, what do the guys say about me in the locker room?" I asked.

He started choking and spit out his food. Luckily, I dodged out of the way and started patting him on the back.

"Are you okay, Em?"

He took a deep breath. "Yeah, I just wasn't expecting that."

"I figured but you accepted this deal and you promised to spill your guts out so spill!" I gave him my evil smile.

He glared at me knowing now that he was screwed. He gulped.

"That's not fair! You tricked me!" He yelled.

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

We started getting stares now so I slapped him on the arm and replied back quietly. "Stop it, Emmett. It was a deal and you agreed."

"Yeah, but Team Beck isn't even existent anymore. Even Tanya's column agrees. No one's going to buy the shirts anymore. So no deal."

It was true. Tanya's column this morning reported that Team Beck was out of the running since Jack was spotted with Stacy. So now, it was Team Edella all the way.

"WHAT?! You can't do that, Emmett! You already sold the shirts and this was our deal!" I pouted to him and forced the full effect of my doe eyes.

"Don't look at me like that Bellie. You know that's my weakness."

I knew it and I was going to use it to my full advantage. I was here to get answers and he was going to tell all! I kept staring at him and pouting.

"Okay, fine but you only get three questions then. Got it?" He said.

He wasn't being fair because let's face it. A deal is a deal but I wanted to get answers and not sit here arguing with him.

"Fine, just as long as you stop selling the shirts." I answered.

Even though I secretly wanted a Team Edella one but I was never going to admit that! I wouldn't be caught dead wearing it or I would die from embarrassment! Okay, maybe I would wear it as a pajama shirt since no one else would see me but Rose.

"Okay." He paused taking a deep breath. "Well, the guys tend to mainly talk about girls in the locker room."

I rolled my eyes. "Well, obviously! Go on!" I crossed my arms.

"So they tend to talk about girls and girls who they think are cute and hot. And who they want to date or hang out with and get to know. And when I started on the team, I heard them talking about you." He paused.

Me? Why would they talk about me? I was nothing special.

"At first, I got mad and they didn't know why until they realized I was your brother. They stopped but they still say things just not as much anymore because of all the stuff that was going on with Jack and Edward. But that's all I'm saying since you're friends with some of them and you know most of them now."

That doesn't answer my question … what do they say about me?

"Come on, Emmett. You made a deal!" I whined urging my brother to tell me more.

"I'm not going to say anything more about what they talk about." I pouted to him.

"I'll give you something else then." He said as he sighed. I nodded wondering what he could elaborate on.

"Just know that Edward gets really upset about it when the guys talk. Jack got mad too but not as much as Edward. And I've heard that Edward has always been upset about them talking about you before I came here so I know he's not acting in front of me because I'm your brother. He really cares about you. Hell, he gets even more upset than me sometimes at what they say. I like him for you, Bells. I trust him and we've gotten to be really close friends." He said in his approving brother tone. I could barely hear the rest of what he said because I was completely shocked.

WOW! REALLY?!

I blinked a couple of times to make sure I wasn't dreaming.

So Edward did care. And he would get upset about the guys talking about me before Emmett started on this year's team? Does that mean that he knew who I was all this time? And that he cared about me before this year?

Argh … too many questions. I knew I had to be careful with what I asked Emmett next since I only had two questions left. He started on his second burrito as I continued to eat my rice bowl.

"Okay, I won't ask you any more about the guy talk then but I am very surprised and shocked." He rolled his eyes at me.

"So question number two, what does Edward say to you about me?"

He choked again as I patted him stronger on the back. "You're really not holding back on these questions are you?"

"Nope!" I said with a smirk.

"Okay, fine." He huffed probably kicking himself in the butt for making this deal.

"But you cannot tell anyone that I told you this and you cannot tell him that I told you this. Promise?"

"I promise."

He paused. "Well, first he would ask me questions about you when we had tryouts before school started."

Whoa. Wait.

He asked Emmett about me during tryouts?! That was before I even knew him!

_Back to the interrogation, Bella! Don't lose focus! _

I gave Emmett a look to elaborate more.

He hesitated like he was telling me some big secret, which made me even more antsy.

What did Edward ask about me?

"He would ask me questions like what your favorite restaurant was and what your favorite flowers were. At first, he did it really subtlety so I didn't think anything about it. Honestly, I thought you two were friends and knew each other. In fact, he sort of tricked me about that in order to get the information from me."

He did what?!

Then Emmett tapped the side of his temple with his fingers. "But your extremely intelligent brother caught on. I got even more suspicious when he would ask me questions about you and Jasper. Of course, he didn't make it obvious but being a guy, I knew what he was trying to do. He was trying to figure out what your relationship with Jasper was."

"I kept telling him that you two were best friends but he still seemed unsure. And when Tanya's column reported that you two were a couple. Well, let's just say that no one wanted to be around Edward. He became this moody brooding guy for the entire week and when the retraction story printed it was like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He went back to being normal Edward."

"So after the whole Jack date, which Edward was still really moody during that entire time too. Come to think of it, the guy has major mood swings. Anyways, he asked me if he could ask you out on a date, which I really wasn't surprised about. I knew it was coming. He just needed to man up about it. I gave him the whole hurt you and die speech."

"You did what?!" I screeched.

"I had to tell it to him. I gave it to Jack too."

"Emmett! I can't believe you did that!" I groaned.

"Well, someone has to. I'm sure Jasper would but it just seems more scarier coming from me." He cracked an evil laugh.

"Anyways, I also wanted to know if the reason he was asking you out was because of the team competition since we waited until after the article printed to ask you out. Of course he got upset with me for even thinking that and assured me that it wasn't. Even though I knew it wasn't but I had to make sure for your sake. And that's about it. He hasn't said or asked me much else since then."

It was like a huge light bulb turned on above my head. Everything clicked now. That was how Edward knew what my favorite restaurant was and what my favorite flowers were.

And now all his crazy mood swings made sense to me now. All the times he acted distant and cold to me in class and that time in the library when Jasper came to meet me for our study session. And I thought it was because he was upset at me for thinking he was gay! HA! He was jealous! I couldn't believe that Edward Cullen was jealous because of me!

WWWWWWWEEEEEEE!!

Wait, does that mean he likes me?!

AAAAAAAHHHH!! I was struggling to keep my excitement at bay. Emmett was smirking at me since he probably saw the realization that was apparent all over my face.

I took a deep breath and asked calmly. "Okay, last question, what happened with Jacob Black on the football field to cause the fight?"

Emmett's eyes bugged out of his head. This his lips went into a tight line and his jaw clenched.

"No! I'm not telling you what happened." He said firmly.

"Aw, come on, Em! You promised!"

"Any question but that question. Ask another question." He huffed.

"Why? What the hell happened? It's like all of you guys are making it into some big secret or something."

"Well, we're getting him back for what he said. They were horrible things, Bella."

"So does that mean it was about me?"

He slowly nodded his head yes. I sighed. That wasn't a good sign.

"Well, don't you think that I have a right to know if he said things about me and that I should be the one getting back at him and not all of you?"

He slowly nodded his head yes again agreeing with me.

"Then, Em, please let me know what he said."

"Okay, fine but you didn't hear it from me! Edward will kill me for telling you." He paused taking a deep breath.

Why didn't Edward want me to know?

"When we were out on the football field, Jacob said that he thought you were hot and that he wanted to tap that …" He trailed off.

I mouthed an "O" in understanding as to why everyone was so upset. I shrank back in my seat. Maybe I shouldn't have asked Emmett what happened.

"Of course, he pissed everyone off by saying that. And he told us that he found out who you were and your name. He made a few more crude comments, which I won't repeat here." I could tell there was something else that he didn't say so I pressed on.

"And?"

"And he said that he would be watching you and that he would get with you eventually. It freaked me out and of course I got angry for whatever he was implying and lunged at him causing the fight to break out. And it upset everyone else too. All the guys see you as a little sis now besides Edward of course."

"Emmett, do you think he's being serious about watching me?" I gulped.

I was starting to get scared. I mean, what if he was stalking me? Or something crazy like that? Who knew what he was capable of?

"No. No. Jacob is just good at lying and trying to outdo everyone. If anything, he was doing it to spite me and rattle everyone up. But I'm still taking precautions. I'm not saying that the Lauren thing was a good thing but it happened at the right time which let me have everyone watching over you again." I sighed.

Did my brother have to rub it in that he was making Edward walk me to every class? Even though Edward swore it wasn't because of Emmett.

"But why would the coach let this slide and not suspend you guys for fighting?"

"Well, turns out that coach has a daughter who is in college now. A very similar situation happened to her back in high school so coach said that he was proud of us for standing up to Jacob. Of course, the coach is concerned about the entire situation and if Jacob does anything, he's going to report it to Jacob's school."

"But don't worry about it Bells. Jacob is not going to do anything to you. We have something planned that we're going to do to him in January after football season is over. And he'll know never to mess with us again."

"Well, what is it?"

"Oh no, I'm not involving you."

"Emmett, this does involve me and I want to be included so what is it?" I demanded.

He sighed giving in and explained their plan to get back at Jacob.

"That's all you guys can come up with?" I said rolling my eyes. Their ideas were pretty lame. There is only so much you can do with vampire bats and they already pulled that off.

Emmett looked at me surprised. "Tell me what you have in mind then, oh great wise one." He said sarcastically.

I went into my ideas and I saw him smile. His grin getting bigger and bigger with all the ideas that I explained in detail to him.

"You really are my sister. I'm so proud!" Emmett beamed while ruffling my hair with his big paw.

I smiled back. I was definitely looking forward to getting Jacob Black back.

That idiot will know never to mess with me!

* * *

"Breathe, Bella, Breathe!" Rose shouted at me as I was sitting in a chair having Alice doing my hair in victory rolls.

I was frantic. It was Saturday and Homecoming was tonight. I didn't even get a chance to think about it all week because of all the craziness. Of course, Alice was happy that I stopped bugging her about who I was going with. There was still an hour until my blind date would show and I still had no idea who it could be. I tried narrowing down the choices and figuring out who was left but there were still a lot of possible options.

Aside from the fact that I had no clue who I was going to Homecoming with, I was excited. The outfits that Alice created were incredible. Alice had created a black swing dress for me that had cap sleeves with a white contrast collar and a white belt with a small bow. It had a gathered bodice and flattering A-line skirt.

Rose was wearing a red swing dress that had a boatneck bodice and V-neck back with a full swing circle skirt. She looked amazing with her hair already done in victory rolls. She was applying her makeup now, which of course had to include the ruby red lips that were ever so popular back in the 40's.

Alice had her hair done in pin curls since she had short hair. She was wearing a navy blue sailor dress, which had the same silhouette as my dress but it had a white belt and a white bow at the collar.

There was a knock on our door as Rose went to grab it. Jenny strolled in wearing a black swing dress that was accentuated by a red bow at the neckline and waist. She already had her hair up in victory rolls and her makeup was flawless. Rose whistled.

"Jenny, you look amazing!" I said.

"Thanks! You all look fantastic! And thanks to Alice for making this awesome dress! And of course everyone else's outfits! I don't know how you do it, Alice!" Jenny said as she sat on my bed.

We agreed to have our dates pick us up from our dorm room tonight. We were going to the dance together as a group.

"I agree! Alice you did a great job on these dresses!" Rose chimed in.

"Yep!" I agreed.

"I'm glad you like them! I was so nervous!" Alice said. We all knew Alice was stressed out this week because of the last minute alterations and things but she managed to get everyone's outfits done in time, which was remarkable.

She finished up my hair and started working on my makeup. After another thirty minutes, she was finished and stepped back admiring her work.

"You're done! Now, go take a look and let me know what you think." She said.

I got up and walked to the bathroom to look at myself in the full-length mirror. I gasped.

"What? Do you not like it?" Alice said sounded defeated.

"Of course not! I LOVE IT! I'm just surprised that I could look like this!" I said.

My bangs were swept slightly to the side but my hair was put up in victory rolls. I had a fresh gardenia flower at the base of my neck holding half of my hair back as the rest lay in rolls around my shoulders. I had on black liquid eyeliner that emphasized the shape of my eyes and bright red lipstick that brought out my lips. I literally looked like I stepped right out of a 1940's movie.

"Bella, you always look good. You just look super HOT tonight!" Rose said as Jenny and Alice nodded their heads in agreement.

"Well, the guys are coming in about ten minutes. Here are your shoes." Alice said while taking out a pair of black peep toe pumps from a shopping bag.

"Alice, how do you expect me to swing dance in those shoes? Let alone with someone that I haven't even practiced with before." I said.

"Bella, stop complaining. These are cute shoes that match your dress perfectly and I know you can dance in them. So shut it and put them on."

I hesitantly grabbed them from her hands and slid them on. I stood up and walked around the room. They were actually pretty comfortable. I could see Alice smirking at me from the corner of my eye.

I heard a knock on our door as I took in a deep breath. The guys were here. Rose opened the door as Emmett whistled. He was wearing a dark green World War II military uniform. I guess they were really going all out with the theme.

I couldn't see anyone else behind his massive form but I saw him twirl Rose around and then walk outside holding her hand.

Then Steve came up to the door, wearing a similar outfit to Emmett's. Alice mentioned to me that it was harder to make a variety of outfits for the guys so most of them would be wearing similar clothes. Jenny walked over to him and gave him a hug and kiss on the cheek. She had to wipe off the red lipstick as they giggled and walked out of the room.

Jasper came up next to the door and was wearing a white sailor outfit. He looked handsome. It fit him perfectly. He gave me a smile but his eyes widened when he caught a glimpse of Alice. She walked over to him and they whispered to each other just staring in each other's eyes. I had to look away since I felt like I was intruding on a personal moment.

Then I heard a soft knock on the door. I looked up and gasped.

There leaning on our doorframe was Edward. I literally passed out at the sight of him.

He was wearing a black pants and a black vest over a white-collar shirt with a black and white necktie. He had a black blazer in his hand thrown over his shoulder. He was wearing a black fedora hat and had his hair gelled back. I was surprised that he was actually able to tame his messy hair.

Was he really my date?! What was he doing here?

Was this real or another damn dream?

I pinched myself.

Real. Very real.

_Deep Breaths Bella! _

_Stop standing here like an idiot staring at him! _

I don't know how long we stood there staring at each other for but I heard someone in the hallway clear their throat bringing us back to reality.

"Hi Bella. I'm here to pick you up for Homecoming." I could tell he was trying to gauge my reaction.

"You're my date?" I asked quietly in a way that if I said it out loud it wouldn't be true.

"Yeah. Is that okay?" He asked with a hint of fear in his voice.

Was he afraid I wasn't going to be happy? Is he freaking crazy?!

"Hell, yeah, that's okay!" I said a little too quickly and too loudly. I slapped my hand over my mouth.

_Okay, a little overexcited there Bella! Calm down! _

I saw his eyes widened a bit at my enthusiasm.

Great, now he's officially freaked out!

I could tell he was trying hard to stop himself from bursting out laughing.

I cleared my throat. "Oh, um, I was just surprised. I thought you had ASB stuff to do during the dances."

"I got this year off dance duty since I'm President this year." He said giving me my favorite lop-sided smile. I probably gave him the biggest smile back as I walked over to him.

"You look …" He paused.

What? Ugly? Disgusting? Hideous? Nasty? Hot? Cute? WHAT?!

My mind was rambling with thoughts as he stared at me dumbfounded. I wasn't sure what to think with the look he was giving me.

"Gorgeous." He said in awe.

Okay, so not what I was expecting to hear but it made me really happy.

Did I really make him speechless?! WOW!

"You clean up pretty nice yourself too." I said.

"Are you two ready to go?" Alice interrupted grinning at us. I gave her a thank-you-so-freaking-much look. I owe her forever!

"Yeah, let's go." Edward gave me his arm as I linked mine through it closing the door.

After my talk with Emmett, the topics we discussed bothered me all week but I didn't say a word to anyone, especially my questions revolving Edward. I tried to figure out on my own if Edward really did like me. I tried analyzing the way he would talk to me or interact with me and I still wasn't a hundred percent sure. So I honestly didn't know what to think. A part of me was thrilled but the other part was sceptical. I decided to not let it bother me since we were at a dance and I had to focus.

We headed out into the night toward the gym. The dance was going to be held in our largest gym, where they had all the basketball games. It was like a mini _Staples Center_. I could see tons of students dressed in similar outfits walking in the same direction as us.

I could feel the stares from girls some in awe and others sending me death stares.

I mean, Edward has never taken anyone to a dance before and here I was with him on my arm! I wanted to run around and scream for joy at the top of my lungs.

But then I realized that he didn't really pick me to go to the dance with him. Alice set us up.

Eh, who cares?! I'm at Homecoming with Edward freaking Cullen! I don't give a rats ass about anything right now!

I could hear In the Mood by Glenn Miller coming loudly from the gym. Our school did not hold back on decorating the place. The gym actually looked like a scene from a 1940s movie. The outside courtyard had strings of white lights hung up in the air and around the trees. There were actual vintage vehicles parked outside used for decoration. I could see old 40's posters all over the outside of the gym walls and a huge sign that read 'The Suds Bucket'.

"The Suds Bucket?" I said out loud laughing.

"Yeah, ASB had to come up with a name for the building." Edward said while shrugging his shoulders.

As we stepped inside the gym, it was unlike anything that I have ever seen. There were no bleachers or basketball hoops or anything sports related in sight. It was like walking through one of my dreams only that this was a reality.

There was a twenty-person big band playing in the front of the gym on a high stage with trumpets, drums, clarinets, etc. They were all dressed in white tuxedos. And there were red curtains on both sides. There were some tables around the outer perimeter of the room and a long soda bar in the corner.

There were already people dancing and doing flips and lifts in the air. I could see the coaches walking around with clipboards. I saw most of our friends already there wearing cute dresses and outfits like everyone else. I caught sight of Jack dancing happily with Stacy.

Then I heard Sing, Sing, Sing by Benny Goodman come on causing a stir of students to rush to the dance floor. Rose and Emmett ran over to the dance floor and started doing the jitterbug. Alice and Jasper were dancing the lindy hop. It was definitely easy for him to lift her up in the air since she was so tiny. Jenny and Steve ran off to dance as well. Edward set down his hat and blazer by a table and grabbed my hand.

"Let's go!" He said tugging me to the dance floor.

First, I was nervous because I had only practiced with Jasper since school started. Second, this was Edward and I didn't want to embarrass him. Third, we would have to hold hands during the dance and I had to make sure I stayed focused. No dreaming since we were being graded and I couldn't let myself get carried away.

As we got to the dance floor, he pulled me into him causing me to be surprised. He gave me a big smile, which made me smile back as he twirled me around. I went along with his lead. It was easier than I thought dancing with him.

He lifted me up into a shin splint where he picked me up as I laid my shins on his bended knee and he twirled me in the air as I landed on my feet. Luckily, Alice sewed in shorts inconspicuously underneath all the dresses so none of the girls would have to flash anyone from all the flips and lifts.

As we continued to dance to the beat of the music, he lead me into a back flip where I rotated around his arm and then landed back next to him. I could see the teachers scribbling furiously on their clipboards as they passed us.

We did a few more flips and lifts as I saw everyone else doing the same. It was a lot of fun. I was laughing and definitely enjoying the moment.

The band started playing Shout and Feel It by Count Basie, which was a faster pace. And we started dancing the jitterbug. Emmett looked like he was a kid in a candy store practically doing as many crazy flips and lifts with Rose.

I saw a couple next to us attempt a back-to-back flip. I was pretty amazed at how well everyone was dancing considering that we just learned how to do this six weeks ago. I could tell the coaches were impressed.

After the coaches left, we decided to take a break. It was really tiring dancing for an hour straight. As I sat down at a table with Jenny, Rose and Alice, the guys went to go grab us drinks from the soda bar.

I caught my eye on Lauren, who was dancing with a sleazy guy that I recognized but didn't know his name. Apparently, Alice made her a very plain dress that was orange. Lauren looked extremely pissed off. I knew that Alice was great at what she did but she obviously did a bad job on Lauren's dress on purpose.

As Alice caught sight of where I was staring she gave me a big smile.

"What? I had a bad day when I made her dress. It's not my fault I made it ugly and uncomfortable." She replied innocently.

I could see Lauren trying to fidget in her dress while dancing causing her to look like she was having muscle spasms.

"Alice, you can never make anything ugly. Let's just say that it's just not something we would ever wear." I giggled.

Rose gave her a pat on the back. "Well, let's hope she doesn't strip down here on the dance floor. We wouldn't want to become blind."

Edward sat down next to me placing a tall glass bottle of Coke in front of me. He gave me a big smile.

"Thanks! Wow, you guys really did go all out!" I said while grabbing the bottle and sipping from the straw.

He laughed. "Yeah, I know. I think it's crazy how much we spend on dances here but it makes it all worth it in the end."

After downing the drinks, we went back to dance a little more. Then the music stopped and Principal Walker and Ms. Dalton went up to the stage. Edward stood next to me not letting go of my hand.

"Attention students, thank you all for attending today. You have impressed all of us with your dancing. We would like a round of applause for ASB and their wonderful transformation of the gym tonight. We would also like a big round of applause for the band that we have hired, who has done an amazing job." Walker said into the microphone as applause erupted from the crowd. I smiled up at Edward who looked back at me shyly.

"It is now time to announce the Homecoming King and Queen." Ms. Dalton said as if it was the most exciting thing to ever happen in her life. I rolled my eyes. I saw Lauren perk up to this announcement, as she stood up straighter with her nose in the air.

"Homecoming King this year is … Mr. Emmett Swan!" Ms. Dalton yelled into the microphone.

Everyone cheered and clapped. I felt Edward relax next to me. He seemed happy that he didn't win for once. I laughed quietly to myself but gave his hand a squeeze.

Emmett ran up to the stage grabbing the crown and placing it on his head while thanking everyone with a slow motion hand wave like a beauty queen and fake tears. Everyone erupted into laughs. I think I even saw Principal Walker laughing.

Ms. Dalton sneered at Emmett to stop. She really took these dances seriously.

"This year's Homecoming Queen is …" I saw Lauren making her way up to the stage before Ms. Dalton even finished her announcement. "Ms. Rosalie Hale!"

I cheered and clapped, happy for Rose but also relieved that I didn't get it. I was dreading it to begin with and was glad that I didn't have to go up there in front of everyone.

I could tell Rose was excited but kept her cool as she walked up to the stage brushing past a shocked Lauren and accepted the crown.

Just then an older woman wearing a long red satin evening gown stepped onto the stage. She reminded me of a younger version of Ella Fitzgerald. She motioned for Emmett and Rose to take the dance floor, which was now emptied to allow for the official King and Queen dance. She started singing Somebody Loves Me by Peggy Lee.

I saw Lauren huff and run out of the gym obviously upset that someone other than her won the crown for once. Not that she always won. But I know she always did mean things to whoever did win because she was so upset that she didn't get it. What a sore loser!

Edward bent down and whispered into my ear. "Do you want to go outside?"

"Sure." I said.

He led me outside to the courtyard that had a few people slow dancing to the music. Then he pulled me into him as we started swaying slowly to the slow jazz music. He had one arm wrapped around my waist and the other was holding onto my hand. My other arm lay against his chest.

It was like we were dancing on clouds. Then a new slow jazz song started as a few more students came out to the courtyard to dance. I could hear the melodic voice of the singer lingering in the air.

_Stars shining bright above you._

_Night breezes seem to whisper, 'I love you,'_

_Birds singing in the sycamore tree._

_Dream a little dream of me_

He pulled me close to him enough for me to rest my head on his chest. So I went for it. I wasn't sure if he was comfortable with it but I felt him relax when I did it. I inhaled his scent and felt him rest his chin on the top of my head. It was like we were dancing alone and no one else was there in the courtyard but us.

_Say nighty-night and kiss me._

_Just hold me tight and tell me you'll miss me._

_While I'm alone and blue as can be,_

_Dream a little dream of me. _

I felt like it was a dream but this was real and I found myself wishing that it would never end. He moved his head and looked down at me as I looked up at him. Green eyes meeting brown eyes. And at that moment, I knew what he felt about me. I could see all of his feelings in his eyes.

_Stars fading, but I linger on, dear,_

_Still craving your kiss._

_I'm longing to linger 'till dawn, dear,_

_Just saying this:_

He leaned his head down closer to me. I stop breathing as I wasn't sure exactly what was happening and the next thing I knew his lips met mine.

I couldn't think. My head was spinning and it was like my insides were melting into goo. The electricity that ran through me curled my toes. My knees started to get weak but I knew I couldn't let them buckle out from under me.

_Sweet dreams 'till sunbeams find you,_

_Sweet dreams that leave all worries behind you._

_But in your dreams, whatever they be._

_Dream a little dream of me_

He gently let go of me and placed both of his hands around my face cupping my chin. He stroked his thumbs against my cheeks. Our lips started to move together as we deepened the kiss. I didn't want to stop but I knew I had to breathe soon. We eventually broke the kiss coming up for air.

My first real kiss. And it was with Edward Cullen.

This was real. I had to keep telling myself that. It was better than any dream or any thought that I ever imagined.

My insides were exploding with joy. This was just unreal! And it was happening to me! ME!

_Stars fading, but I linger on, dear,_

_Still craving your kiss._

_I'm longing to linger 'till dawn, dear,_

_Just saying this:_

He leaned his forehead against mine.

"Wow!" I breathed out.

"Wow doesn't even describe it." He said sounding breathless.

"You don't know how long I've been waiting to do that." He said softly pulling back away from me looking at me in the eyes.

I looked up at him and giggled. He gave me a confused look. So I reached up and wiped off the bright red lipstick that was on his lips. He blushed slightly. He looked so adorable.

"How long have you been waiting?" I finally got a chance to ask him to get the answer that I was waiting for.

_Sweet dreams 'till sunbeams find you,_

_Sweet dreams that leave all worries behind you._

_But in your dreams, whatever they be._

_Dream a little dream of me_

_(Dream a Little Dream of Me – Ella Fitzgerald)_

The song had ended.

"Exactly 3 years, 6 weeks, 3 days and 12 hours." He said quietly.

I gaped at him in shock. He looked at me scared that he freaked me out.

_Quick! Say something, stupid! You don't want him to think you're freaked out. _

If anything, he should be more freaked out by me!

"No, that's not what I meant." I recovered quickly. "I'm flattered. Very very flattered. I was actually surprised and I have a confession to make."

His brow furrowed in confusion.

"You see, I have had the biggest crush on you for exactly 3 years, 6 weeks, 3 days and 10 hours."

His mouth dropped open in shock.

"I'm just surprised how you are 2 hours ahead of me." I said with a smile as my face flushed red.

He laughed and grabbed me in a hug. I threw my arms around his neck.

"So do you really mean it? I just don't want to wake up if this is a dream." I mumbled into this chest.

He pulled back and looked me in the eyes. "I really mean it. I have liked you since the moment that I saw you 3 years ago in the parking lot on the first day of moving into the dorms."

"Ah, that explains the 2 hours ahead of me. I didn't see you until lunch at the food court." I beamed. He chuckled.

"Of course everything intensified after we became friends this year." He said. I nodded in agreement.

"Why didn't you say anything to me? Why didn't you talk to me?" I asked.

He laughed. "I could ask the same of you."

He was right. I should've sucked it up back then and talked to him.

"I was scared all these years because I thought you were with Jasper. I wasn't for sure and didn't want to intrude. And you didn't seem like you were open to meeting anyone so I kept it to myself and admired you from a far. And I was so focused on school and sports. I didn't want to have any distractions but I knew I had to do something about it this year. I was actually really glad that we finally had classes together this year. It gave me the excuse to talk to you. That was why I sat next to you in both of the classes that we had."

After all this time, Edward Cullen liked me the same time I did and he wanted to be with me. He picked me. Me!

"I was scared too. I mean I admit that it was a crush at first not like the fan club that you have but a crush from a far like you said. But after getting to know you, it's something more. Much more." I trailed off softly. He smiled at me.

"You don't know how happy I am right now." I said smiling up at him.

"You don't know how happy I am." He said.

He grabbed my hand bringing it up to his lips and kissed it.

"Ahem!" I heard someone clear her voice.

We turned to look at Alice and saw her hands on her hips. Jasper was standing next to her giving me a big smile and knowing look. I didn't have to explain anything to him. He knew what happened just from the expression on my face.

"Is there something I should know?" Alice demanded.

"Well, I told her." Edward said.

"And I told him." I said.

She squealed and wrapped her arms around us jumping up and down.

"I knew it! I told you! Both of you! Now both of you can stop being stupid!" Alice yelled.

Everyone was staring at us and Jasper helped to quiet her down. Eventually everyone went back to dancing. Edward and I continued to dance. We talked quietly to ourselves about our hidden but now revealed feelings and the various times he wanted to tell me. He was dying to tell me the day of the bonfire. When he missed his chance on the rocks, he tried telling me in the car only to be interrupted by Emmett.

It all seemed so surreal. Here I was dancing with the most amazing guy ever and he liked me back. I felt like I was on top of the world and I didn't want this night to end.

* * *

**A/N: Well, what do you think? Are you all happy now that they are finally together?! I hope you liked it! Were you surprised at all? I left a lot of clues about his feelings for Bella since the beginning and some of you guessed it right. And I know it's cliche to have him like her since the beginning but it's fiction and that was how I wanted it to be since I first started this story. Did you like how he knew about her favorite things? So cute! **

**And about what the other guys say about Bella, I won't be going into any more detail so it's really just they talk about her saying she's hot and cute and stuff like that and that's all. **

**I hope no one gets offended since I had the guys wear WWII uniforms to the dance. I just wanted it to go along with the theme and who wouldn't want to see a Emmett and Jasper in uniforms? **

**I got the name Suds Bucket from the movie A League of Their Own. I love that movie! **

**I know that the Lauren revenge in here was subtle but don't worry, there will be drama in the next chapter!**

**And I know that the whole Jacob thing wasn't that shocking in terms of what caused the fight but remember he didn't physically do anything to Bella and the fight was all caused by words so it was Jacob being stupid Jacob. And don't worry he won't physically harm Bella in this story. It's not where I wanted to go with it since this is a ****light hearted story. He will get what's coming to him but not for a while. We'll be dealing with Lauren's revenge first. **

**Next Chapter will be a surprise! I will keep it a mystery to all of you but I think you will LOVE it. **

**Please Review and Thanks for Reading! **


	23. Spring

**A/N: You guys are all amazing! Thanks again for all the support, reviews and alerts! You all keep me going with this story.**

**So I've gotten a lot of questions if this is the end and it's definitely not. I'm planning to write this story out until the end of graduation. And we're barely hitting Halloween in the next few chapters so there is more planned. So please stick with me on this.**

**Well, I hope you like this chapter. It's fluffy but fluffy good! As I said in the last chapter AN I didn't want to give away what was going to happen in this chapter so it's a surprise and I think you will like it. Read on! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Twilight or Ally McBeal. I do own the storyline and any characters that I make up.**

* * *

**Chapter 23 – Spring**

Song – Spring from Four Seasons by Antonio Vivaldi

* * *

After Homecoming, Edward and I became inseparable. Not like we weren't already before but there was just something between us like an understanding of each other's feelings that made everything more comfortable.

Of course, Tanya's column declared us dating by Monday with pictures of us at Homecoming and of our first kiss. I even felt the butterflies flip in my stomach as I saw the picture of us.

The biggest question that I was constantly asked by almost everyone and anyone was if Edward was my boyfriend. I even had random freshmen girls that I didn't know come up and ask me that question. It got to the point where the incessant questions were really starting to annoy the hell out of me.

What do I say?

Yes, he's mine so back off bitches! That of course was what I secretly said in my mind but I truly didn't know how to answer anyone because he didn't officially ask me to be his girlfriend and I didn't want to label him as my boyfriend. If I did that I would surely scare him away. I guess my only option was to sit and wait.

I was starting to feel anxious. What if he didn't want to be my boyfriend? What if I freaked him out?

Ever since Homecoming we confided a lot of things to each other.

He even told me that he would go to the school bookstore just to see me. Me! I was completely dazed when he said that. He had to pinch me to get me to snap out of it. He was starting to learn that pinching me was a good thing even though at first he was afraid of hurting me.

Supposedly that day when he came into the store, he was so caught up in me that he accidentally grabbed the _Confessions of a Shopaholic _book and he didn't even know until I pointed it out to him. Of course, he told me that was probably the most embarrassing thing to happen to him since I thought he was gay and then he played it off that he bought it for Alice.

I still couldn't believe that that was his most embarrassing moment. That was nothing compared to all of mine. I warned him that there would be more to come with him being around me but he laughed it off.

I also confessed why I was constantly pinching myself around him because of my stupid imagination. He laughed probably the hardest that I've ever seen him laugh but what if he thought I was a freak?

**RING! **

The bell rang signalling the end of the day. I was in the newspaper office putting away my things as Jasper walked up next to me.

"What were you thinking about? You looked deep in thought." He asked.

I was hesitant to talk to him about Edward and my feelings. He was my best friend but I only talked about the guy stuff with the girls. And he already heard enough about my crazy crush the past three years, I'm sure he didn't want to hear the details now as to what was going on.

"It's nothing, Jazz." I huffed.

"Bells, clearly something is bothering you. So tell me." He said.

I looked around making sure no one was around to eavesdrop.

"Okay, well, I've been bombarded with questions all day from people asking me if Edward is my boyfriend. I know he hasn't asked me yet and I still think it's early but I was just thinking what if he never asks me. What if he doesn't want to be my boyfriend? What if I scared him away?" I said nervously.

"Why would you think that Bells? The guy is crazy about you. Anyone can see it."

Really?

"I don't know why I'm thinking like this. I'm just getting nervous I guess. Especially with all the attention and random people coming up to me. What am I supposed to say and what am I supposed to think?"

"Well, it's only been a week that you two have been dating."

"Yeah, but we pretty much act like a couple. I know you probably think I'm crazy because it's only a week but what's the normal timing of when you ask someone to be serious and exclusive? Because he could date other people and what if he wanted too?" My stomach felt sick at that thought.

"You know he's not going to do that, Bells." Jasper scolded.

"I don't think there is a specific timeframe as to when to ask someone to be serious or exclusive. I think it's just based on the right timing or at least that how it was with Alice for me. Just don't worry about it, Bells. It will come soon." He smiled at me.

I grabbed my book bag and headed toward the door. I saw Rose and Alice standing there waiting for us.

"Hey guys!" I said as I walked over to them.

Alice ran over to Jasper giving him a hug. They started whispering to each other so I looked over at Rose.

"Hey, I have to use the restroom." I said while walking toward the girls restroom.

"I have to go too." She said walking with me and linking arms.

"Well, be right back you two lovebirds!" I shouted out as we walked down the hall.

"So how are you and Edward?" Rose asked as we stepped inside the restroom. It looked empty since I didn't see anyone inside.

"Great." I replied hoping she wouldn't know what was really bothering me.

"Okay, I know that look. What is it?" She asked.

I sighed. She knew me too well. I went into explaining to her the concerns that I was talking to Jasper about. Just as I finished talking I heard a loud noise.

**BAM! **

I saw a stall door fling open and out stepped Lauren with a smug look on her face.

GREAT! She just heard everything. I am so stupid for talking to Rose about something private outside of our dorm room.

She cackled her evil witch laugh and had her hands on her hips.

"Well, Swan. You know that Edward is never going to ask you to be his girlfriend. He's just using you to get me jealous."

"What hit you on the head?" I hissed.

Wow, I was surprised that came out of me!

"Are you blind, Mallory? Edward is not into you and never will be. So just give your STD's to someone who's willing to take them." Rose seethed.

"Shut it Hale! I don't need to get onto you about winning my Homecoming title."

Lauren glared at Rose walking past her. Then she walked right in front of me and jabbed her long bony finger into my chest. I didn't realize that she was taller than me by two inches but she was definitely not intimidating.

She leaned in closer to me and I could smell her horrible breath.

Man, did she even brush her teeth? UGH! I started to almost pass out from the nauseous smell.

"Listen, Swan. You're not his girlfriend and never will be. Edward doesn't go for girls like _you_. And I told you to stay away from him so leave …" she poked me in the chest.

"Him…" She poked me again harder.

"Alone…" She poked the hardest now.

Nuh uh, she did not just poke me! It hurt!

I saw Rose about to lunge at her but I gave her a don't-you-dare look so she stood still. I put both of my hands out in front of me and shoved Lauren away.

Opps!

I pushed a little harder than I was hoping for. I didn't know that I was that strong. She almost fell over backward.

"Don't poke me! And you need a freaking breath mint!" I hissed.

Rose cracked up laughing at my comment.

I could see the fury in Lauren's eyes.

Not good. Definitely not a good sign.

I saw her hands ball up into fists. I gulped.

**Uh Oh. **

She screamed and lunged at me grabbing my neck trying to choke me.

"I HATE YOU SWAN!" She yelled at the top of her lungs.

Rose screamed and jumped on her back grabbing on to her hair and started pulling at it.

I kept hitting Lauren's arms and hands trying to get them off of my neck. She let go of me and started flinging her arms trying to get Rose off of her. I tried to catch my breath, gasping for air.

Rose jumped off her and they started slapping each other. I thought I saw Rose hit her nose.

_That's it! Barbie is about to die now! _

"Why can't you just leave us the hell alone? We know it was you who printed those fliers about us!" I screamed.

Lauren turned running toward me screaming with her clawed fingers stretched out ready to scratch me.

I dodged out of the way and stuck out my arm pushing against her chest as she fell flat on her back. She got up and tried lunging toward me again pulling on my hair. I grabbed onto her hair and started pulling as hard as I could. Rose jumped on her back again trying to scratch her.

Then the restroom door flung open. We froze not sure who it could be.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?" Alice yelled standing in the doorway with a shocked Jasper standing next to her.

Oh, it was only Alice.

Rose and I went back to screaming and pulling as Lauren tried to grab harder onto my hair.

Jasper came running in trying to get Lauren's hands out of my hair. He managed to push her off me. Alice ran to hold Rose back. Rose was huffing and puffing while glaring daggers at Lauren.

"Why can't the two of you just disappear?!" Lauren yelled at Rose and I.

Jasper was standing between us as Lauren kept trying to get through him to me.

"We never did anything to you!" I screamed.

"You came to this school! This is my school! And my guys! AND MY EDWARD!"

Her Edward? Was she kidding me?! Over my dead body will he ever be her Edward.

I charged toward her again as Jasper blocked me from wringing her neck.

"AND MY HOMECOMING TITLE!" Lauren screeched louder toward the end of ranting. Rose and I rolled our eyes at her comments.

"The three of you need to cool it! You don't want to get detention or expelled for fighting so Lauren, get out!" Jasper yelled at her.

She stopped pushing against him and stomped out of the restroom. I took one good look at the damage we did to her. Not too bad if I say so myself.

"Bella, you're bleeding!" Alice yelled grabbing a paper towel and wetting it. She handed it to me as I looked at myself in the mirror. I had a small scratch on the side of my forehead. I looked at my neck and could tell that where she grabbed me was going to bruise.

"Calm down, Alice. It's barely bleeding." I said.

"I think we roughed her up pretty good." Rose hi-fived me and then went back to straightening out her messed up hair.

"Correction, I think you roughed her up pretty good. Did you hit her nose?" I asked.

"Yep! And I'll do again if she comes near us!" Rose beamed proudly.

"Well, that was one crazy catfight. It's a good thing we broke it up before anyone else saw." Jasper said.

I started patting down my hair making sure that it looked like nothing happened before we left the restroom.

"What was that all about?" Alice asked.

We told them what happened and they both looked shocked but then started laughing.

"Well, I'm glad that both of you aren't hurt but that was so funny!" Alice giggled.

We headed back to the dorms and I started laughing again trying to imagine us bitch slapping each other. Then I stopped walking.

"Damn it, Edward and Emmett are going to be so pissed that we were fighting." I said.

"We have to keep it between us!" Rose said.

Jasper and Alice looked at each other then back at us.

"Bella, you have to tell Edward." Alice said.

"No, there is no way I am telling him. He will be so mad. No. We are not telling anyone. This is between the four of us and our own separate revenge outside of Operation Annihilate Malibu Barbie, okay?" I said.

"Fine!" She pouted.

There was no way I was going to let Edward know what the fight was about. The last thing I would want is to guilt trip him into asking me to be his girlfriend. That would be the worst possible situation ever.

As we walked back to the dorms, I couldn't help but think of what Lauren said.

I know, I know. I shouldn't take it to heart. I knew she was crazy saying that Edward was trying to make her jealous. Anyone could tell within a mile radius of him that he hated Lauren. I wasn't stupid enough to fall for that.

But one thing she said was true. And that was what was ringing through my ears.

Edward wasn't my boyfriend.

**

* * *

**

It was Saturday and Edward and I saw each other last night after his football practice but he left this morning for an away game.

Luckily, he didn't notice the scratch on my forehead. I hid it well with my bangs and the bruising on my neck didn't start yet. I'll probably have to start wearing turtlenecks around him so he wouldn't find out. I hated not being able to tell him but I just know he would get pissed and to be honest, a pissed Edward scared the shit out of me.

I was falling behind with my college applications and Edward insisted that I stayed at the dorms to work on them. I felt bad for not going to his game but I really needed the time to finish everything. The deadlines were next week!

He did promise to come and get me for dinner once he came back from the game. Rose was sitting on her bed frantically typing away. I knew she was further behind than I was so we stayed silent working the entire time.

I threw in my earbuds as I listened to some classical music trying to write my college application essays. After a few hours, I looked out the window and noticed that it was darker now.

I looked at the clock and it was almost 8pm. He should've been back by now. I checked my cell phone. No messages.

I took off my earbuds and asked Rose, "Hey, do you know what time the guys are getting back?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "Not sure. I think it's going to be pretty late."

"Oh." I said sounding sad. I thought we were going to be able to get dinner tonight.

"Hey, can you play your classical music out loud?" She asked.

That's odd. She never really listed to classical music. I did what she said and pulled out the earphones from my laptop causing the music to fill the air. Spring by Antonio Vivaldi was playing.

After a few minutes, it sounded louder than I actually had it playing on my laptop. That was strange. I checked my laptop again and tapped on it to make sure it was working right.

**TAP! TAP! **

I heard something hit our window. I ignored it and went back to working on my essays.

**TAP! TAP! **

"Rose, do you hear that?" I asked.

"Hear what?"

I guess I was the one going crazy.

"Nothing, nevermind." I huffed trying to concentrate.

**TAP! TAP! **

I heard it again and started staring at the window.

**TAP! **

I saw something hit against it.

"What the hell? Someone is throwing shit at our window!" I yelled standing up and flinging the window open. I could hear the sound of the music getting even louder.

"STOP THROWING SH–" I froze staring at what was on the ground floor below us. It was the last thing I expected to see.

**THUMP! **

"OW!" I yelled rubbing my forehead. Something hit my forehead. I looked down at the floor and saw a pebble.

"Bella, I'm so sorry!" Edward cried out. "You opened the window right after I threw the rock. Are you okay? Did I hurt you?"

I rubbed my forehead a little harder and shook my head.

"I'm fine, Edward. What is all this?" I asked in awe.

There below me was Edward standing there wearing a dark blue suit that fit him perfectly. His hair was slightly damp so I knew he just finished showering. He was looking up at me with a sparkle in his eyes. He was holding a dozen red roses in his hands and there was a string quartet behind him playing the same song that was playing on my laptop. There were also a hundred lit candles in glass votives that spelled out "Girlfriend?"

I rubbed my eyes and pinched myself.

"You're not dreaming, Bella." Edward chuckled.

I stuck my head further out the window and saw a few other heads sticking out of their windows trying to see what was going on. Luckily, it was a Saturday and the dorms weren't full.

Edward cleared his throat trying to prepare himself to speak. I mean, everyone was staring at him but he was used to it.

"Isabella Marie Swan, I know that this is soon but I know that everything about us is right. And I know that I think about you all the time and that I want to be with you always."

I could hear the girls coo, "AWWW!"

"So I've been wanting to ask you this since the first time that I saw you but would you be my girlfriend?"

He said what?!

Edward Cullen asked me to be his girlfriend?

I stood there in a daze.

I heard some girl yell, "Yes!"

And then I heard Alice yell, "He wasn't asking you idiot!"

Alice? She was probably watching from her window.

Rose came over and smacked me out of my daze. "Go down there now!" She yelled. I completely forgot that she was in the room.

I ran down the four flights of stairs not caring what I was wearing.

Was I even wearing clothes?

I glanced down quickly to make sure that I was dressed. I was wearing a light blue pair of pajama shorts with small white clouds on them and Edward's navy blue football sweatshirt. He left it at my dorm and I wore it today because it smelled like him. Although, he wasn't supposed to know that I was wearing it. I didn't want him to think I was a weirdo.

Opps … too late now.

So definitely not the ideal outfit to wear in a situation like this but I didn't care. It's not like I could tell him to wait for ten minutes while I got dressed and then come downstairs.

I ran out of the dorm doors and saw Edward standing there smiling at me. I threw myself at him jumping on him and wrapping my legs around his waist. I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him. I heard clapping but ignored it.

"So is that a yes?" He laughed as he pulled away and looked me in the eyes. Tears were streaming down my face.

"YES!" I said with the biggest smile on my face.

What did I do to deserve such a great guy?

"Why are you crying, sweetie?" He asked while wiping my tears away.

"I'm just so happy!" I said.

"Me too." He said.

I hugged him tighter and we kissed again. I didn't care that people were around us. I didn't care that I could hear people snapping pictures and squealing. It was just him and me and that was all I cared about.

"It's about freaking time!" Alice yelled causing us both to erupt into laughs.

As he set me back down on the floor, he introduced me to the string quartet. They were part of the orchestra at school and they owed Edward a favor.

"Did you do this all by yourself?" I asked as we started to clean up the candles but not before I had Rose take a ton of pictures for me to document the moment.

"Alice and Jasper helped with the candles. I came over as soon as the game was finished, took a shower and helped set the rest of it up with them. Rose was in on it too since she had to make sure that the right music was playing at the right time."

"But how did you know that my computer would be playing that song?"

"Rose told me that it was one of your favorites and that you had it on repeat."

"You know, she could've told me to change or something. I feel so underdressed." I smiled at him sheepishly.

"No, I like it better when you wear my clothes." He beamed at me and leaned down to kiss my cheek.

As we walked into the dorm building, he froze.

"What is it?" I asked. I looked over at him and saw him staring at my neck.

Opps … Got caught. Damn.

Shit. I just had to ruin a good moment, didn't I?

"Bella, what happened?" He asked with concern at least he wasn't mad. Yet.

"Well …" I trailed off.

Then his eyes widened when I pushed my bangs aside.

_Great timing, Bella! _

He saw the scratch on my forehead.

"Isabella, tell me what happened right now." He said firmly.

**YIKES! Uh Oh. **

First name from Edward. Not a good sign. Big big trouble.

"Don't get mad, Edward. You have to promise." I said.

"Is it Jacob?! I'm going to kill that son of a bi–" Edward hissed.

I cut him off. "NO! NO! It doesn't have anything to do with Jacob." My eyes went wide.

I told him a few days ago that I found out about Jacob and the football game. And then I also told him that I would be involved with the revenge.

Boy was he mad. So yeah, that was why a pissed off Edward scared me.

He took a few deep breaths and tried to calm himself down. He pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. Then he sighed and said hesitantly, "Okay, I promise."

"Rose and I got in a fight with Lauren."

"You what?!" He shouted. His eyes bulged out of his head. I swear I saw a vein pop out of his forehead.

Oh man. Was I just digging a grave for myself?

"You promised you wouldn't get mad!" I huffed.

"I'm not mad. I'm just worried. What happened?" He replied lowering his voice.

I went on recalling the catfight with Lauren and when I was done he grabbed me into a hug.

"Don't do that ever again!"

"Yes, Dad!" I replied and rolled my eyes at him.

"I'm being serious, Bella. I don't want you to get hurt."

"She didn't hurt me. I just bruise easily and she grabbed my neck. What could I do? I had to defend myself. Plus, she called you _her_ Edward and I wasn't going to stand for that."

"Were you jealous?" He teased raising his eyebrows at me.

"Noooo … I wasn't jealous. She just annoyed me."

He looked at me telling me to go on.

"Okay, fine. I was jealous. Happy now?" I sighed.

"Very." He beamed at me and kissed me on the cheek.

"But I still can't believe you fought with Lauren."

"I know. I can't believe it either but she poked me first and her breath stunk really bad."

"That's one of the reasons why all of us stay away from her." He laughed as we headed up to my room.

We walked in and saw Rose grinning at us. She gave us both hugs.

"You guys just won me a hundred dollars!" She squealed.

"What? Why?" Edward asked looking at me with a curious expression. I shrugged my shoulders not sure what Rose was talking about.

"I made a bet with Emmett as to when you guys would be official and I won! I bet one week and he bet two weeks saying that Edward wouldn't be man enough to do. Way to go, Edward!" She said as she slapped him on the back. He scowled at her.

"Just ignore her. Rose and Emmett bet on everything. It's nothing new." I said.

He took off his blazer and set it on my desk chair. Then he turned and looked at Rose.

"Rose, Bella told me what happened with Lauren."

Rose rolled her eyes. "You're not even boyfriend and girlfriend for less than five minutes and you spill everything. You are so whipped."

"I am not! He saw the bruises and the scratch." I defended.

"Well, I'm glad Bella told me and that you both aren't seriously hurt. I can't say that I didn't wish I was there to see it." Edward said as a huge grin broke out on his face.

"But don't get into another fight with her again. I don't think Walker would overlook physical fighting. We'll get her back though."

I rubbed my hands together. I couldn't wait for more revenge.

He pulled himself up on my bed and I sat next to him. Then I realized something.

"O.M.G. Does Emmett know about what you did?" I asked Edward.

"Yeah, calm down, Bells. He was happy about it."

"Phew! Okay good. I was worried for a moment there. If Emmett didn't know he would kill you." I said.

I felt him stiffen up next to me but I patted his knee to calm him down. I was surprised he wasn't that afraid of Emmett but maybe deep down inside he was. I would be too if he wasn't my brother.

"So what do you want to do tonight, my Bella?" He asked while playing with my hair.

My Bella. I liked the sound of that.

Now I was his and he was mine. Officially.

My Edward.

* * *

**A/N: What did you think? Romantic? Cute? I loved the candle idea. I got it from an episode of Grey's Anatomy and thought it would be good to put in here but tweaked so that it would fit. I know it's fast to have them be official in one week and that I didn't write any more chapters leading up to it but I had to do it to flow with the remaining part of the story and I was butting up against the timeframe of when this story was taking place. I hope that's okay! **

**And the catfight with Lauren, I got it from She's the Man and the catfight that was in the bathroom. I love that movie! I hope you pictured that scene when reading it. And that wasn't the revenge on Lauren! I had to include a smack down right?! **

**And I hope you don't all kill me but the updates will be slower from here on out. I had written everything in advance and now I'm all caught up with posting but my work has been crazy busy and we're moving back to the US soon so I'll be busy. I will try my best to update once a week but it won't be 2 or 3 times in one week anymore. **

**Since I'm planning to drag this out until Graduation, I might need some ideas along the way so I'm open to any ideas you may have. I think I'm all out of ideas past Valentine's Day. I have enough to get me until then but what I'm going to do from V-day to Graduation? Hmmm ... **

**Next chapter ... Revenge on Lauren! **

**Please Review and Thanks for Reading! **


	24. Dirrty

**A/N: As I stated in my previous update that I started a companion piece to this but in EPOV. It's called King of Ridge Crest Prep. I hope you like it! Sorry for the AN update! I promised I would update with another chapter ASAP so here it is! **

**Thanks to all of those that added this to your alerts and for all the reviews! This is beyond what I thought I would get and it amazes me each and every day! I'm also very surprised at the response that I'm getting for King of Ridge Crest Prep so I think I will definitely be moving forward with EPOV! Thanks again for all your support and comments! I have the best readers!!! **

**So here is the beginning of revenge on Lauren. I say beginning because there will be different parts to it. So please be patient. It will all add up in the end. This is a fluffy chapter but I hope you like it. Everything italicized and in quotes is the group talking through walkie-talkies. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Twilight or Ally McBeal. I do own the storyline and any characters that I make up.**

* * *

**Chapter 24 – Dirrty**

Song – Dirrty by Christina Aguilera

* * *

"_Come in, Princess Fiona. Come in."_ Emmett's voice squeaked loudly from the walkie-talkie that Rose was holding in her hand. Alice and I threw our hands over our ears as Rose quickly adjusted the volume.

"_Emmett, is it really necessary for us to have nicknames?"_ Rose hissed at him through the walkie-talkie.

"_Yes, and that's Shrek to you. Over and out."_ He replied. I looked at Rose and rolled my eyes. Leave it to Emmett to want to be called Shrek. Well, he definitely had the body of an ogre. He was also taking the whole walkie-talkie thing a little too far.

The time had come for us to implement our revenge on Lauren. This was only the beginning.

It was close to 8pm and it was Friday night. We were all dressed in black clothes. Emmett and the guys were staked out to be look-outs and they were stationed outside of Lauren's dorm and around the halls.

Rose got a copy of Lauren's room key, courtesy of Stacy and the girls who were able to swipe it during cheer practice for us. She was fiddling with Lauren's door.

Luckily, we had Jenny and the other cheerleaders keeping Lauren busy with cheer practice so we had a good amount of time to set up everything.

The hallway was practically empty but it helped to have Jack, Scott, Steve and Brian at the end of the hall as look-outs. They helped to distract any girls that would come nearby.

**Click! **

Lauren's door clicked open. She had a single room so we didn't have to worry about distracting a roommate.

"Bingo!" Rose said.

I grabbed the walkie-talkie and whispered into it. _"We're going in now."_

"_Copy. 10. 4. Copy. We read you loud and clear Belle."_ Emmett said.

"_Em, I mean, Shrek. Why am I Belle? Isn't that too close to my real name?"_ I said.

"_No, you're Belle from Beauty and the Beast. And Edward is the Beast."_ Emmett said.

I heard some struggling over the walkie-talkie. I heard Emmett whine. _"No!"_

Then I heard Edward's voice come over the walkie-talkie. _ "Sorry about that. Shrek here really needs to get a life."_

"_Yeah, I agree."_ I said and laughed.

"_I second that." _Brian's voice came over the line. He had a walkie-talkie as well. We had three in total.

We checked the hallway again before going into the room. Just then Alice flipped the lights on and we all gasped.

"_OH"_ Alice said.

"_MY" _Rose said.

"_GOD!"_ I said.

"_What?" _Brian said.

"_What is it?"_ Edward asked frantically.

"_You guys have to see this."_ I took out my iPhone quickly and snapped a picture. Then I texted it to guys.

Within seconds, they were all busting up laughing over the walkie-talkie.

Apparently, Lauren was more than a little obsessed with Edward. She had all of his jerseys displayed in her room and pretty much a giant wall mural of his junior year yearbook picture.

"Geez, obsessed much?" Rose said. Alice looked freaked out.

"_Edward, are you okay?"_ I asked into the walkie-talkie. The guys were still busting up laughing but I knew Edward was quiet. I couldn't hear his laugh and he was probably shocked. It wasn't until I spotted something else in Lauren's room that I quickly took a picture of it and texted it.

_That should shut them up. _

Within seconds, everyone was quiet and I could hear Edward laughing now.

Evidently, Lauren didn't just have an Edward shrine. She also had pictures of most of the guys and a few more pictures of Jack than some of the others. She also had a lot of pictures of Emmett too and some were back from when he was at Hilltop Prep. Rose was fuming when she saw the photos.

I wanted to roll on the floor and laugh because of how boy crazy Lauren was. I guess you could really tell a lot about a person just from looking at their room.

We snooped around a little and tried to find evidence of the picture she took as proof but we couldn't find anything.

"_No evidence of the picture."_ Rose whispered into the walkie-talkie.

"_Get started on the revenge plan. We don't see her yet but I think the girls will be done with practice soon."_ Emmett responded.

Then we went to work.

Rose went to shifting things around the bedroom moving things so that they were out of place. We wanted to scare Lauren since it was close to Halloween. The girls told us that Lauren was convinced that the school was haunted.

I went to replacing her shoes. Luckily, Alice kept a watchful eye on the types of shoes Lauren wore so we replaced a few of her shoes with the exact same style but in a slightly smaller size.

Alice immediately jumped on Lauren's computer trying to get the information that Mark needed in order to hack into her computer. I could see her texting him the information. I had no idea he was a computer geek at heart.

"_Incoming, incoming. Shut the lights off now!"_ Emmett's voice shouted through the walkie-talkie.

I ran to turn off the lights as Alice shut down the computer. The entire room was dark now and we ducked down so that no one would see us through the window. We were on the third floor and Lauren's window was open.

"I'm not done yet. I still have to set up the webcam." Alice whispered to us.

"_Tinkerbell's not finished yet!"_ Rose hissed.

"_Unleashing the Beast!"_ Emmett said.

I heard Edward shout out. _"Em!"_ Then I heard some huffing and struggling and the walkie-talkie went silent.

Great, I knew Edward was thrown to the great white shark. We were to only use him as bait in case of an emergency.

Yes, my poor boyfriend was going to be dangled out in front of the black widow herself. He was extremely hesitant when we brought up the idea but after Emmett nearly begged him, he gave in. Hopefully, he could act well enough to pull it off but I didn't have any doubts. He was always so poised in front of people. All he had to do was charm the pants off her and we were in the clear.

Alice started frantically trying to get the webcam set up.

I heard Lauren's loud nasally voice outside.

"Hello, Eddie." Lauren purred at my boyfriend.

He was mine and she just didn't understand it. Stupid witch!

"Hey, Lauren." He said trying to sound smooth. I knew she would eat it up but we all could tell he was trying hard to hide his hatred.

"What are you doing here?" She asked trying to sound seductive.

I made a gagging face to Rose who was trying to suppress her laughter.

"I was just waiting out here to talk to you about something." He said trying hard to think of something. I could tell he was struggling.

_Come on, Edward. Think of something good to distract her with. _

Was he afraid I would be mad or something? I guess Alice was right when she said he wasn't really good with dealing with girls.

Just then I heard Emmett whisper into the walkie-talkie, which we turned down on a very low volume setting.

"_Dude, Belle. Can the Beast be any more PW?"_ I could hear the suppressed giggles coming from the rest of the guys.

I looked at Rose with a curious expression. I mouthed to her. "What does PW mean?"

She shrugged her shoulders to me and mouthed back. "I don't know."

"Oh, really. What did you want to talk to me about?" I heard Lauren coo.

I could imagine Lauren's pathetic attempt at trying to flirt with Edward and I could see her batting her eyelashes at him. Ugh! I'm sure she was thinking that he wanted to be with her. Fat chance as long as I'm here!

I could sense Edward's hesitation even though I couldn't even see his face. He was silent.

"_Shrek, what does PW mean?"_ I asked. I heard more giggles and I knew they had to be quiet or our cover would be blown.

"_Pussy whipped!"_ Emmett whispered and then burst into laughs. Rose and Alice tried hard to suppress their laughter by slapping their hands over their mouths.

"_Shrek, you better stop that now or I'll come down there with a pitchfork and personally kill you myself, you big ogre!" _I hissed.

The walkie-talkie went silent.

"Well, um, you see." Edward cleared his throat.

"I was waiting for you to ... see you." He said. I knew he was faking it but I could still feel something queasy in my stomach.

The suspense was killing me. I had to see what was going on. I couldn't take it anymore.

I crawled on all fours closer to the window ignoring Rose's glares. I peeked just above the window frame.

I could see Edward facing the window with Lauren's back facing me. I saw her walking closer to him. She laid her hand against his chest and leaned in toward him with her lips puckered up.

_Barbie has gone too far this time!_

_I shot up in the air and saw Edward's frightened eyes lock on me.  
_

I yelled. "GE–" I felt Rose throw her hand over my mouth and tackle me down onto the floor.

"What was that?" Lauren asked.

"Oh, uh, nothing." Edward said playing it off.

Rose glared at me and shot me a don't-screw-this-up look. She mouthed. "She's not going to kiss him. So chill!"

I nodded as she let go of her hand.

_Just chill out, Bella! Edward can handle himself. _

Yeah, but it's Lauren, I don't trust. For all I know, she could practically throw herself on top of him.

"_Geez, possessive much, Belle?"_ Emmett whispered.

"_Shut it, Shrek. Tinkerbell is done now. Relieve the Beast."_ Rose said.

Rose motioned for us to hide. Alice jumped into the closet. I got under the bed as Rose crawled in next to me.

We had to stake out the room until Lauren fell asleep in order to go through with the rest of the plan. We did find out from the guys that she was a heavy sleeper. I'm not sure how they even knew that and I don't think I wanted to know.

I heard Edward's cell phone buzz with a text message. Most likely from Emmett telling him to stop talking to Lauren.

"Well, I have to go now. See you." Edward said.

"Do you have to go so soon? You can come upstairs if you'd like." Lauren purred.

"NO!" Edward practically shouted.

He cleared his throat. "I mean, that's not really necessary and I have to go. See you around." I heard him walking away.

Then I heard Lauren sigh and walk into the building.

"_Malibu Barbie is on the way. Repeat. Malibu Barbie is on the way. Signing off now." _Emmett said.

We turned off the walkie-talkie. We heard the door open and saw the lights turn on as we stayed quiet and still. I could see Lauren's feet from under the bed and I saw her walk over to the giant sized mural picture of my boyfriend.

"Oh, Edward! You will be mine someday!" Lauren whirred to the poster and then I heard a kissing sound.

Ew, was she really kissing the poster?! Rose and I gave each other disgusted looks. I was pretty sure Alice was cringing inside the closet.

I heard her sign onto her computer. That was the sign for Alice to text Mark that she was online. She clicked on a few things and just then, Dirrty by Christina Aguilera started blasting loudly from the speakers. That song fit her perfectly. It was so loud that I threw both of my hands up to cover my ears as Rose did the same.

I could hear Lauren trying frantically to turn the volume down. "I don't remember leaving the volume up so high." I heard her talking to herself.

Then she started clicking away on the computer and hitting the keys. She paused.

"What the heck?"

I'm sure the glitches were starting to happen. She banged her laptop a little bit more and then sighed in frustration. Then she moved toward her closet. I took a deep breath hoping she wouldn't find Alice.

Good thing, she only opened one side of the closet and grabbed her things heading into the bathroom to change.

She came out after a few minutes and just then the music blasted loudly again. She ran to her desk and turned the volume back down.

"What the hell?" She said out loud. Rose and I tried hard not to laugh. I could tell by the tone of her voice that she was starting to get freaked out. Then she started noticing that things were misplaced.

"I could've sworn I put that DVD over there." She said scratching her head.

She turned off her music and after a few more minutes, the baffled Lauren went to sleep. We were lucky she didn't have any visitors tonight or Rose and I would die having to hear her with a guy. I flinched at that thought.

We didn't have to wait long for her to pass out. Like the guys said, she was a heavy sleeper. After fifteen minutes, we started hearing her loud snoring.

Rose and I crawled out from under the bed as Alice popped out from the closet. We had to do hand motions and mouth words to each other. We were right in enemy territory and had to be extremely careful about not getting caught.

Rose and Alice immediately went to grabbing all of her school clothes out of the closet and stuffing them into trash bags.

I grabbed the small plastic bag of rotten strawberries that we had. Jenny said she was allergic to strawberries and that she wouldn't die from the allergy. We wanted to torture Lauren, not kill her.

We had squished them up into a juice-like substance. Of course, we didn't have to make them rot but that just added to the affect. We were evil.

I put my hand into the bag dipping it into the juice. I walked over to where she was sleeping with her mouth wide open. She had on a sleeping eye mask. I flicked the juice on her face hoping she wouldn't wake up. She didn't move an inch. I flicked some more and then saw her shift over to her side.

"Mmmm … Emmett." She moaned. Rose turned around swiftly and lunged toward Lauren trying to strangle her. Alice grabbed onto her holding her back.

"Calm down, Rose!" I mouthed to her. "She's only dreaming."

I could see the fury in Rose's eyes die down slightly as she writhed out of Alice's grasp and went back to putting the clothes into the trash bags.

I continued flicking the juice on Lauren's exposed arms and neck. Then she turned around again and moaned. "Oh, Jack."

_Good, God! Did she really dream about every guy in this school?!_

Rose, Alice and I looked at each other with disgust.

Then Rose and Alice went to the door and opened it slightly to give hand signals to Brian down the hall. Scott and Jack came by and picked up the trash bags.

Just as we closed the door, Lauren's body sat straight up in the air.

**Crap! **

We froze not sure what to do. We were holding in our breath. I didn't see her remove her eye mask. Was she still sleeping?

Then I heard Lauren mumble something and fall back down onto the bed.

Oh God.

She was still asleep.

We breathed a silent sigh of relief.

That was close!

We waited in the room for about an hour. Luckily, the Lauren didn't move again but we had to endure listening to her moan out practically every guy's name in the entire school. By the time the full hour was done, Rose was dying to get out and Alice and I were freaked beyond belief.

Finally, Scott and Jack returned with the bags and we went back to putting everything away in its original place.

Once we were finished, I turned to Rose and Alice and mouthed. "Are you ready?"

They both nodded yes as we slipped out the door and met up with the guys outside of the dorm building. We were far away enough for Lauren not to hear us as her window was still open. I saw Jasper, Jenny, Steve, Carrie, Janet, Kate and Garrett waiting for us with Emmett and Edward.

I ran up to Edward who enveloped me into a hug.

"I'm sorry about earlier. I freaked out when I saw her trying to kiss you." I mumbled.

"It's okay." He chuckled. "It was pretty funny seeing the expression on your face. But for the record, I really didn't know what to do or what to say to her."

"You're really not good with talking to girls are you?" I teased.

"It's more that I don't prefer to talk to girls too much because I get irritated easily. And Lauren is one that irritates me to death." He replied.

I buried my face into his chest. "She made me so angry when she tried to kiss you. I wanted to drop kick her ass to China."

He laughed. "I would've loved to see that." I playfully smacked his arm.

I saw Mark was sitting on a bench with a laptop placed on his knees. He was typing away furiously. I guess our wireless internet connection covered the entire school grounds.

I could see Stacy, Annie, Scott, Jack and Brian in the room above Lauren's with the window open. Stacy and Annie shared a room and lucky for us their room was right above Lauren's which gave us the perfect access.

"Are you all ready?" Mark asked.

"It's showtime!" Emmett boomed.

"_Donkey, get ready!"_ Emmett said through the walkie-talkie.

"_Why am I the donkey?"_ Brian answered.

"_Let's just get on with it!"_ Rose hissed into her walkie-talkie standing a few steps away from Emmett.

We ran behind a set of bushes and crouched down around Mark and his laptop, which had a clear view of the inside of Lauren's room pulled up on the screen from the webcam. She was still sleeping and the entire room was dark.

From where we were hiding, we could also see Lauren's window clearly. I saw Jack and Scott lowering Brian out Stacy's window. They lowered him down to be close enough just to reach Lauren's open window.

Mark was typing away furiously on his computer and after a few seconds, loud music blasted from Lauren's room.

I looked closer to the webcam screen and saw her scream and sit straight up in her bed.

"Wh-Who's there?" She yelled out loud as she moved the eye mask above her eyes. She scanned the room and then hesitantly got off the bed and went straight to her computer turning off the music. Her eyes were bugged out of her head. We all tried to suppress our laughs.

Right when she turned the music off, Brian banged his hand against her window making it shudder. Lauren screamed even louder this time and jumped.

I looked over by the windows and saw Scott and Jack raising Brian back up into Stacy's room. He got back into the room before Lauren walked over to her window trying to figure out where the noise came from.

Just seeing Lauren's face made us almost burst into another round of laughs. She looked so scared and freaked out like she was about to cry. We could see her shaking on the computer screen.

Then Mark typed away again onto his computer and we saw Lauren's face turn pale white as she stared at the computer screen.

She ran to grab her cell phone and started punching in numbers.

"Hello." She cried into her phone. You can hear the fear coming from her.

"I-I'd like to report a ha-haunting." She stuttered.

"What? … No, I'm not lying … I am serious. I'm a student at Ridge Crest Prep and my room is haunted." She cried louder into the phone. She paused for a moment.

"What a felony? This isn't a prank. You're 9-1-1. You can't hang up on me!" She screamed into the phone.

She called 9-1-1!

I turned to see everyone around me rolling on the floor with suppressed laughter. I buried myself into Edward's shoulder to keep from laughing out loud.

She slammed her phone shut and then walked up slowly to her computer. She was so scared to touch it. When she finally got the guts to touch it she quickly pushed the off button, which cut the video from the webcam.

The show was over. Damn.

We saw the lights in her room turn on. She was definitely freaked out.

"_Let's move out so we can find a place to talk!"_ Emmett whispered.

Edward and I got up and walked toward Emmett's dorm. The group from Stacy's room was already waiting for us. We gathered around bursting into laughs.

"That was hilarious!" Garrett said.

"You guys saw it too, right?" Kate asked the group that came from Stacy's room.

"Yep, Mark sent us the link to the video. It was hilarious!" Stacy replied.

We all laughed. We got her good!

"I can't believe she called 9-1-1!" Carrie squealed.

There was another round of laughter.

"Mark, what did you put on her computer screen?" I asked.

He gave me an evil smile. "I just flashed the words, Lauren Mallory, I'm coming to get you! And then a static screen courtesy of _Poltergeist_."

More rounds of laughter. I know I would freak out if that happened to me.

"This was so good. I can't wait until tomorrow!" Alice chirped.

"Don't worry, you'll see what we're talking about with the strawberries!" Jenny laughed.

"You don't think she'll not show up, do you?" Jasper asked.

"No, she'll be there. She never misses James's Halloween Party." Annie said.

"Alright everyone gather together. Group huddle!" Emmett boomed.

We all crowded together into a huddle. "Great job guys! Now phase one of Operation Annihilate Malibu Barbie is complete. Go team! Break!" Emmett said in his captain voice.

I rolled my eyes and looked at Edward. "Is he like this with you guys on the field too?"

"You have no idea." He beamed at me.

**

* * *

**

"I am not wearing the gold bikini to James's Halloween Party!" I yelled.

"Come on, Bella! You and Edward can go as Princess Leia and Hans Solo!" Alice squealed.

"I already wore that damn bikini to the car wash, I am not wearing it again." I shouted.

Edward laughed but quickly covered it up trying to sound serious. "I agree. I don't want Bella wearing that gold bikini in front of the entire school."

"Okay, how about Beauty and the Beast?" Alice asked.

"I don't mind dressing up as Belle." I said and then looked at Edward.

He shook his head no. "No. No way. There is no way you are getting me to wear a Beast costume. It sucks enough having Emmett call me that stupid name." He huffed.

"Why do you two have to be so difficult?! The party is tonight and you still don't have costumes." Alice yelled.

We had been arguing with Alice all week over what to wear tonight. We couldn't agree to anything she had in mind for us. She even asked if we would be Homer and Marge Simpson. That was a hell no! I was not going to sport a blue bee hive wig and I was sure Edward did not want to go with a fake beer belly mumbling "Donuts!".

"Do we even have to dress up?" I asked.

Alice's eyes bugged out of her head.

"Do we even have to dress up?" She tried to mimic in my voice.

"What kind of freaking question is that?! Yes, you have to dress up! This is the biggest party of the year!" Alice hissed.

She was taking this party a little too seriously. I gulped and gave Edward a help-me look. He sighed and I knew there wasn't anything he could do. When Alice was on a mission, there was no stopping her.

It turns out that James, one of the popular guys at our school had a Halloween Party at his house each year and it was huge. Almost the entire school went. He had a mansion in the Hollywood Hills so it was like being invited to a celebrity's house. His dad was some big movie director.

Jasper and I have never been before so this would be a first for us as well as Rose and Emmett who had heard rumors about James's party from Hilltop. Alice had never gone as well but she was extremely excited from all the hype.

Edward said we didn't have to go but Alice and everyone else insisted that we went. After Jenny, Rose and Alice begged me I couldn't say no.

So here we were stuck without any costumes. What to do …

"Football player and cheerleader?" Alice asked.

"No." Edward and I answered in unison.

"What about an 80's theme?" Alice asked.

"No. There is no way I'm sporting a mullet." Edward said. I laughed trying to picture Edward in a mullet hairstyle.

"Hogwarts costumes?" Alice asked.

"No." We both answered.

It went on for awhile until we came to a final decision.

"Do you have time to get everything ready by tonight?" I asked Alice. She insisted on making the costumes for us.

"Of course!" She chirped and then skipped out of my room.

Edward and I looked at each other and rolled our eyes.

This was going to be a long night!

* * *

**A/N: Do you like the nicknames? I just crack up laughing trying to picture Edward as the Beast. Hahaha ... and sporting a mullet is a good one! If you don't know what that is, it's a 80's hairstyle that guys used to sport and it's really ugly. Hahaha ...**

**I hope you liked the revenge on Lauren. Some of the things might sound familiar to you and they are from different movies. I got the strawberries idea from Addicted to Love, which is a hilarious movie! And then I got some other ideas from a French foreign film that I will reveal in a later chapter. And I got the obsessed Lauren idea from She's the Man! Again, I love that movie!**

**Has anyone ever slept in the same room with someone that was fully asleep, sat up straight, mumbled things and then fell back asleep? That has happened to me before and it freaked me out! I had to include it in here! **

**If anyone can guess what E&B's Halloween costumes will be, I'll send you a tiny glimpse of the next chapter which is filled with some new drama that I decided to throw into the story. Dum da dum dum DUM! I know I said I wasn't going to add drama but I changed my mind. I'm evil!!! **

***Hint* The costumes are a couples costume. Happy guessing! **

**Next Chapter ... James's Halloween Party! **

**Please Review and Thanks for Reading! **


	25. Thriller

**A/N: Thanks to all those who reviewed and added this to your alerts. I'm so glad you liked the Phase One prank on Lauren! Muahaha ...**

**Here is James's Halloween Party! So I know I promised in previous chapters that I wouldn't be having drama but I came up with a few ideas and decided to add/foreshadow them in this chapter. Read on! Pictures of the costumes are in my profile. **

**Don't forget to add King of Ridge Crest Prep to your alerts if you haven't already. It's the EPOV companion piece to this story. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Twilight or Ally McBeal. I do own the storyline and any characters that I make up.**

* * *

**Chapter 25 – Thriller**

Song – Thriller by Michael Jackson

* * *

Rose and Jenny were helping me with my hair and makeup. I wasn't sure if Alice would be done with our costumes in time. The clock was ticking.

It felt like it was Homecoming all over again but this time I had the mirror in front of me so I could see what they were doing. Somehow Rose managed to make my hair look shorter than it actually was. My deep brown hair was put up with curls. There was a strand of curls that framed the left side of my face. Rose was trying to pin a black headband that went around my forehead. It was sequined and had a brooch on the left hand side with small feathers sticking out of it.

"Stop fidgeting, Bella! I can't put this on you." Rose hissed.

I sat still.

"Sorry I'm nervous." I said.

"Don't be. You look gorgeous!" Jenny said.

"Thanks!"

"Okay, there I'm done." Rose said as she stepped back admiring her work.

"Wow, you do look gorgeous, Bells!" She sang.

Just then, Alice burst through our dorm door.

"Here is the costume. I just finished it. Put it on. I'll see you guys outside." She said in hyper speed.

She threw the costume on my bed and before I could say anything back to her she already ran out of the room.

Rose and Jenny went to get dressed as I picked up the black satin dress and went into the bathroom. I put it on and looked in the mirror. I don't know how Alice does it. She always amazed me.

It was a detailed dress that bunched below the hip with a dangling fringe. It also had a sheer overlay with black sequins. I put on black sheer pantyhose and the same black peep toe pumps I wore to Homecoming. I threw on a string of white pearls and took a step back from the mirror to look at myself.

Not too shabby.

I stepped out and saw Rose in her Supergirl costume. She had straightened her hair so it lie flat and long cascading down her back. She was wearing a super tight long-sleeved blue-cropped shirt that exposed her midriff and had a red Superman logo on the front of her chest. She also had a long red cape flowing behind her and wore a short red flared skirt with red knee high boots. There was no doubt that she was going to be the talk of the party.

Jenny was wearing a Cleopatra costume. She had on a black short-cropped wig with a gold snake headband. She wore a white and gold halter-top that wrapped around her neck into a gold necklace and exposed her midriff. Her white skirt had a gold jewelled belt and gold flap that ran across the front of the skirt. Her arms were decorated with a gold snake arm bracelet on the right and a gold bangle on the left, which held a gold-netted cape that flowed behind her. A pair of gold Egyptian sandals was tied up her calves.

"Are you gals ready to go?" Rose asked.

Jenny and I nodded. We headed out to the parking lot to meet up with everyone and saw a bunch of other students dressed up in costumes as well.

Jenny found Steve who was wearing a Marc Anthony costume complete with a fake sword that he was swinging around at everyone.

Emmett was wearing a Superman costume. He didn't need the fake muscles since the tight costume already accentuated my brother's muscular build. I was surprised that he wore such tight blue pants in public. Rose must've forced him to wear it. And I didn't want to know what she used as collateral.

He stood there with a serious look on his face and had both arms balled into fists and placed on his hips. He puffed out his chest.

"Here I come to save the day!" He yelled loudly.

"That's Mighty Mouse not Superman!" Rose yelled as we walked up to the group.

Everyone laughed. As soon as Rose came into everyone's view, I could practically see the drool coming out from all the guy's mouths and we weren't even at the party yet. She always did steal the spotlight. Not that I'm complaining. If anything, I was thankful for that!

Then Edward came into my view. He was wearing a black pinstripe zoot suit with a black and white fedora hat. He looked just like he did for Homecoming but this time he had on a black collared shirt with a white tie and he was carrying two fake black Tommy guns.

I was literally speechless when I saw him. He looked amazing!

"Eh, sweetheart, you're looking good." He said in a New York 1920's accent and tilted his hat leaning in toward me.

I walked up to him swinging my pearls. "You're looking good yourself too, Clyde." I purred in his ear.

I looked up at him and saw that he was staring at my intently. He looked dazed. Did I really do that to him?

"So, do I get a gun too?!" I asked excitedly. He shook his head breaking himself out of the daze and then handed me one of the Tommy guns.

"Of course, what my Bonnie wants my Bonnie gets." He replied wrapping his arms around me.

"I already have everything I want right here." I said while giving him a peck on the cheek.

"Me too." He whispered into my ear.

"Hey, you two love birds, are you ready to go?" Alice chirped.

I turned to look at her. She was wearing a light blue-cropped shirt that tied at her neck and a light blue skirt that was cut at the bottom in zigzags. She had a black leather belt with bones glued across it. Her hair was styled in a bob that flipped out at the ends and she had a light blue ribbon in her hair.

Jasper was standing next to her holding a fake club and a brown long shirt that looked like a dress. I think he was wearing a fake belly underneath too because he looked fatter from the front.

"Betty and Barney Rubble?" I asked while laughing.

"Yep!" She replied. She kept Jasper and her costumes a secret.

I turned toward Jasper.

"You complained to me all week about the costumes because you didn't want to wear tights as Peter Pan and now you show up wearing a dress?!" I said. Edward laughed next to me.

"Alice wanted me to wear this costume so I'm wearing it for her." Jasper replied proudly.

"And you say that Edward is PW!" I shouted at Emmett.

Everyone burst into laughter as Jasper scowled at me.

The theme for James's party this year was to go as couples. I looked around at everyone in our group. People really did go all out with their costumes.

Kate and Garrett were dressed as Jane and George Jetson. Stacy and Jack were dressed as Cinderella and Prince Charming. Scott and Annie were dressed as Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf. Brian and Janet were dressed as Alice in Wonderland and the Mad Hatter. Mark and Carrie were dressed as Popeye and Olive Oyl.

We looked like one big happy bunch of couples.

"Let's roll out!" Emmett boomed as we all headed to our cars. I threw Edward my keys as we got into my car. Alice and Jasper decided to ride with us. Alice was jumpy the entire ride but luckily Jasper was able to calm her down.

I was happy that Jasper and Edward chatted the entire ride. I really wanted them to get along but I knew it was hard since Jasper wasn't involved with any sports at school. And I wasn't sure how Edward felt about Jasper being my best friend when he first thought we were a couple.

Was he over that idea? Did it still bother him? Sometimes I thought I sensed tension coming from Edward whenever Jasper and I were around each other but I wasn't for sure.

Hopefully, with the bonding, Edward's insecurities would be gone. It surprised me that he was insecure. I knew I was all the time but this was Edward and he was insecure about me.

God knows why.

As Edward pulled up to the mansion, my mouth dropped open to the floor. I mean, don't get me wrong, my parents had a huge house but this made our house look like a one bedroom apartment.

Edward pulled up to the valet parking attendant. Yes, James got valet parking for his big party. We got out of the car and made our way toward the house.

"I can't believe how huge this place is." I whispered to Edward.

"I know. I had the same reaction when I first came here."

The music was booming loudly and there were packs of people grouped around drinking from plastic cups.

Hmmm … alcohol? I've never drank before and this was my first house party. It looked liked a scene right out of a teenage movie except instead of being at a junky house it was at a mansion.

I saw a group of students smoking outside as we walked past them and through the front door. We got a lot of stares and I had to hand it to Rose for all the damn attention.

As we walked into the dark foyer with high ceilings and a huge chandelier decorated with fake cobwebs, we were greeted by James. I'd seen him around school but never talked to him. He had long blond hair tied into a ponytail and was dressed as a Ghostbuster. His friends were always a separate group of friends but they seemed nice.

"Hey, guys! Nice costumes." He said while giving a hi-five to Emmett and the rest of the guys.

"Help yourselves to drinks and have fun!" He winked at us and walked away.

Everyone started making their way into the crowded living room. Edward grabbed onto my hand and pulled me with them leading me through the crowd. The living room was huge and transformed into a dance floor complete with a DJ and strobe lights. The dance floor was packed. I saw half of our group walk off to dance as the other group stayed behind.

Emmett went to grab drinks for the guys. I could still feel the stares on us but ignored it as much as I could.

When the announcement in Tanya's column on Monday went out about Edward asking me to be his girlfriend last Saturday, it was worse than when the column said that we were dating. At this rate, I wouldn't be surprised if I had death threats sitting in my inbox and a group of girls protesting outside my room with pitchforks and spears.

I was hoping that everyone would be over it but unfortunately, they weren't. I'd just decided to suck it up and hope that the stares would go away.

Emmett came back with a few plastic cups in his hands and started handing the cups out to the guys.

I turned to Edward and took a sniff of his cup. I wrinkled my nose. "Do you usually drink at these parties?"

He gave me a sheepish smile. "A little but I don't go overboard."

"Do you think it'll be okay if you drive back tonight?" He asked. It was cute.

"No problem. I don't intend to drink any of that stuff. It smells like pee." I said. He laughed and then took a sip from his cup.

We scoped out the room and just when Thriller by Michael Jackson came on, Lauren Mallory walked in with her date. She was dressed as … well, I couldn't figure it out. She had on a skimpy tropical bikini top and boy shorts. She looked like she just came in her bra and underwear.

I froze when my eyes went to her face. Ever inch was covered with red patches and red bumps including her arms and neck.

One of Lauren's friends screamed loudly. "What is that?!" She sounded like she just saw a hideous beast.

Of course, everyone turned to where the girl was pointing and screaming at. The room fell silent as all eyes were on Lauren. She was using both of her hands trying to itch herself.

"What is everyone looking at?" She shrieked. She kept scratching her face and neck.

"Go back to what you were doing!" She hissed.

Everyone went back to dancing again with laughs ringing out among the crowd. I saw that our Operation Annihilate Malibu Barbie group had to hold in the laughter. I squeezed Edward's hand as he stifled a laugh that only I could hear.

She was pissed as she huffed and walked further into the room with her date following closely behind her.

She walked past our group making her way to get drinks. She glared at Rose and I as Edward pushed me behind him so that she wouldn't see me. He was always so protective.

She walked up to her group of friends who were wearing similar costumes to hers. All of them had similar hairstyles with their fake hair curled and left flowing.

Lauren looked livid. She put her hands on her hips and shouted. "I'm supposed to be Barbie!" Then she reached up and started scratching her face.

Everyone started staring at her again wondering what she was yelling about. I knew that our group was trying hard to suppress the laughter. I buried my face in Edward's chest so she couldn't see or hear me laugh out loud.

One of her friends replied back while flipping her hair over her shoulders. "Well, I'm Kentucky Derby Barbie."

I was holding in my laughter that tears were almost spilling from my eyes.

Her other friend shouted back. "And I'm Disco Barbie."

All of them started arguing now as to which specific Barbie they were. They were poking each other and criticizing each other's costumes. Then the entire room erupted into laughs and I couldn't hold in my laughter anymore.

"Shut it, Barbies!" Brian yelled.

"Hey, Kens, why don't you put a lid on your dolls!" Emmett boomed.

Their dates were all part of the dumbest guys in school. All of them were major stoners and had an IQ of about 3, collectively. It didn't surprise me when they just looked at each other and shrugged at Emmett's comment before walking outside probably to go smoke out.

Once Edward finished his drink, we want out onto the dance floor to dance with everyone. We danced to a few songs and just when we were going to find a place to sit, I grabbed Edward's hand and bumped into someone.

Someone I thought I would never see again. My eyes widened.

"Bella? Bella Swan?"

I blinked my eyes a few times. Edward was standing next to me and could sense my body going tense. He placed his arm on my shoulder and stared at the girl in front of me. Then he pinched me.

"Ow!" I yelped. The girl was looking at us curiously.

Great! She's going to think we're some freaky masochistic couple.

"M-Maria?" I stuttered. The girl looked a lot different from the last time I saw her. She was taller now about the same height as Lauren and had long frizzy curly brown hair and brown eyes. She definitely had boobs that she was not afraid of showing in her slutty costume.

What was she? A brunette Barbie?

Good God! Did we need more of those here?

"It is you! It's been so long. You look _different_." She said as she eyed me up and down and then took a long look at Edward.

"And who is this?" She purred fluttering her eyelashes at him.

"This is _my_ boyfriend, Edward Cullen." I emphasized hoping she would get the clue to leave him alone. I felt Edward wrap his arm protectively around my waist and saw him throw her a fake smile.

"It has been a long time. What are _you_ doing here?" I asked in a short and clipped voice. I thought this party was only for Ridge Crest Prep students but apparently, I was wrong.

"My family has known James's family for a long time so he invited me to the party. And guess what?"

"What?" I replied coolly.

"I'm going to Ridge Crest Prep in January! I'm transferring. Isn't that great?" She answered sounding enthusiastic.

"Just peachy!" I mocked in fake enthusiasm. She was too stupid enough not to notice the sarcasm in my voice.

"Where's Jasper?" She asked looking around the room.

I took a deep breath. I knew she would ask about him, it was only a matter of time. Thankfully, him and Alice were outside.

_Play cool, Bells! _

"I'm not really sure. He's around with _his_ girlfriend." I tried to point that out but I knew that wouldn't stop her.

"Oh, okay." She said sounding unfazed.

I knew it! Witch!

"Well, I'll see you around and I'll catch you in January!" She squealed and then walked away.

GREAT … just what we needed. Another Barbie to join the collection.

"Who was that?" Edward asked.

"I'll tell you later, come on." I said pulling him to a secluded corner of the room. I didn't want anyone else to hear us. I looked around making sure the coast was clear.

"That was Jasper's first crush, Maria Ramos. He liked her in junior high even though I swear that witch put a spell on him or something." Edward chuckled.

"We all thought she was wrong for him and of course, he wouldn't listen to us. They never went out or anything, we were too young but she led him on for two years thinking that she was interested and then broke his heart. In 8th grade, he walked in on her making out with some guy in the janitor's closet. Not to mention that he found out she was hooking up with half of the 8th grade football team."

"I always thought he wasn't over her while we were going to RCP because he was never interested in anyone else until Alice came. But it's definitely not good news that she's here. I have to warn Jasper."

When I stopped talking I noticed that Edward looked upset. This wasn't good. Why was he mad?

"Do you think Jasper would do anything with Maria?" Edward gritted through his teeth.

Oh … Alice. He was trying to protect Alice.

"No way! Jasper is not going to do anything with Maria. He hates her after what she did. And he's completely taken by Alice. How can you think that?" I hissed.

Why would he even think that Jasper would do that? I was a little peeved. He obviously didn't know Jasper well enough but he is the older protective brother of Alice. I'm sure if Emmett was put in a situation like this he would flip out.

"I'm sorry. I'm just worried for Alice. Do you think Maria will do something?" Edward asked.

"I have no doubt about that. Especially now that she's transferring to RCP in January. She's like a Lauren Mallory and if they team up, things will go from bad to worse." I gulped.

"I don't think we should tell Alice. I think Jasper needs to be the one to tell her. Let's go find them." I added.

Edward nodded his head in agreement and grabbed my hand leading us to the backyard.

We walked outside and saw the huge infinity swimming pool overlooking Hollywood. The view was amazing but I didn't have time to think about that now. I was on a mission.

I saw Alice talking with Rose and Emmett. Where was Jasper?

We walked up to them.

"Hey guys, where's Jasper?" I said trying to sound casual.

"He went to the restroom." Alice replied.

"Oh, okay. I have to go too. Do you know where it is?" I asked.

"It's inside." Emmett pointed and gave me the directions.

I let go of Edward's hand and started walking toward the restroom when Edward stopped me.

"I'm only going to the restroom. I'll be fine." I whispered in his ear.

"Are you sure? I can come with you." He said.

"Nothing is going to happen. Don't worry. And you need to distract Alice! I need to tell Jasper right away that Maria is here."

I jumped up to kiss him quickly on the cheek and turned around walking inside the house toward the restrooms. The house was packed and people were randomly hooking up and making out in the hallways and in dark corners of the house.

_Get a room, people! _

All of sudden, I felt someone grab my ass.

That was definitely not my boyfriend.

I slowly turned around and was standing face to face with Jacob Black.

What the hell was he doing here? Was he stalking me?

I saw him grinning down at me with a sick smile. There was only one way to get that stupid grin off his face.

**BAM! **

My fist connected with his face.

"OW!" He yelled while stumbling back and clutching his nose.

"Don't ever touch me again!" I yelled. Blood was spewing out of his nose and I was happy to know that I did that to him. Serves him right for groping me.

"And don't come near me ever, shit head!" I shouted.

Just then Jasper came racing down the stairs and stood in between us. He was holding me back from kicking Jacob's ass.

I took one more look at Jacob who had his eyes wide like saucers. He looked completely terrified. Then he ran off and started screaming like a girl.

Not the reaction I was expecting but it was hilarious. I started laughing and Jasper joined in.

Then Jasper's face turned serious. He was mad.

Opps. A mad Jasper was not a good thing.

He started yelling at me as I cringed. "What were you doing alone? Where's Edward?"

"I was looking for you!" I shouted back. I lowered my voice a little and added. "And Edward is distracting Alice right now."

"Why? What's going on?" He asked curiously lowering his voice.

I paused for a second. Should I just tell him and rip the band-aid off quickly?

Yeah. Rip the band-aid off.

"Maria is here." I saw Jasper's face turn pale white as he froze in place.

Not good.

"Edward and I bumped into her earlier. She's transferring to Ridge Crest in January. You have to tell Alice, Jazz."

Still no movement. I waved my hand in front of his eyes and snapped my fingers.

He's gone. I knew it.

I shook him a little and then noticed him coming back down to earth.

He paused before speaking.

"No, there's no need to tell her."

"What?! Are you crazy? You are on drugs aren't you?" I hissed.

"What?! No!"

"Then why won't you tell Alice? She has a right to know and you can't avoid Maria. You know it's going to be plastered all over Tanya's column the minute school starts back up in January." I scolded.

"Bells, just drop it. I'll tell her when I need to tell her. Right now is not the time." He said.

"What if Maria comes up to you here? Then what are you going to do?" I asked.

"That's not going to happen because we're leaving right now." He said.

"Jazz, I can't keep this from Alice. If she asks me, I have to tell her. She's my best friend too."

"I know." He said as he pulled my arm leading me outside to where everyone was standing.

Could this night get any worse?

"What took you so long?" Edward asked.

Shit! I didn't want to get in trouble. Think of something quick!

"Jacob was harassing, Bella." Jasper answered.

Too late. Damn it!

"He was what?!" Emmett boomed.

I gave my best friend a death glare. Thanks for spilling the beans! I was tempted to shout out what I knew about Maria but I knew Jasper would kill me for telling Alice so I kept my mouth shut.

Edward clenched his fists tightly.

"Don't get your panties in a bunch. I punched him and scared him off." I said.

"You what?" Edward yelled.

"Well, he groped me."

"He did what?!" Emmett and Edward yelled in unison.

God, big brother and boyfriend teaming up … definitely not good. Yikes!

"Let me finish. He grabbed my butt so I punched him in the nose. I think I broke it. He deserved it, that idiot!" I said while crossing my arms against my chest.

"I think Jacob won't be coming around Bella for a long time. He was so scared he ran off screaming like a girl." Jasper said while laughing.

Then everyone else burst into laughs. Emmett patted me on the back beaming proudly.

Edward still seemed upset. He grabbed my fist and rubbed it making sure it was okay. It was slightly bruised but that's nothing new.

"I'm not feeling too well. Alice, do you mind if we leave? I can call a cab to pick us up." Jasper asked.

Alice immediately looked concerned. "Jazzy, are you okay?"

Edward threw me a questioning glance as I pretended not to see it.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just have a headache."

"Okay, let's go." Alice said.

They said their good-bye's to everyone and left.

I had a sinking feeling in my stomach. Edward pulled me to the side and whispered to me.

"What happened?"

I explained to him the whole story.

"I just feel awful that he's not telling Alice. What should I do?" I asked.

"Bells, I think you should stay out of it. Let Alice and Jasper handle it on their own. It's their relationship."

"I know but why do I get a sick feeling that something bad is going to happen?" I said.

"Everything will be fine. Don't worry." He said.

I wasn't sure what to believe.

**

* * *

**

After another hour of socializing and dancing, I was getting tired. I was talking to Rose and Jenny outside near the pool and decided it was time to find my boyfriend in the crowd of people. He went off with Emmett about a half hour ago.

I scanned the crowd and then saw a drunk Lauren Mallory swaying over to us. She had a plastic cup in her hand. She stopped a few feet in front of us and I could smell the alcohol coming from her.

"Swan, Hale." She slurred while scratching her face and arms.

I could smell her horrible breath mixed with alcohol and wanted to vomit. I rolled my eyes and tried not to breathe through my nose.

"You know you two should really watch your boyfriends more carefully."

Huh? What was she talking about?

"They really know how to have a good time." She winked and then went back to drinking from her cup.

She hiccupped and then placed one hand over her mouth. Then she started heaving and turning pale.

"Look out! She's about to blow!" Brian yelled.

She was going to spew chunks all over us. Everyone started screaming and running out of the way. I quickly grabbed her shoulders and turned her so that she was facing away from Rose and I.

Then she moved and shot everything out right into the pool. It was disgusting.

James came running over. "Mallory! You just ruined my pool!"

James started arguing with Lauren as we walked away.

"What was she talking about?" I asked Rose.

Rose shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know but let's find out."

She grabbed my arm and led me through the crowds. It wasn't hard to find the guys because Emmett was roaring with laughter.

We walked up to see Edward, Emmett, Steve and Mark practically rolling on the floor.

"What did you guys do to her?" I asked.

"I gave her a few Emmett Mystery Surprises." Emmett beamed.

"You gave her what?!" Rose said with her eyes wide.

Rose and I started giggling as Jenny looked at us curiously.

"What's in the Emmett Mystery Surprise?" Jenny asked.

"No one knows. Emmett throws a bunch of hard liquor in there. Only he can handle those. He gave two to Jasper before and he spent the whole night throwing up." Rose answered.

"I think Lauren's in for one hell of a night." I said.

We turned to look toward Lauren's direction and saw her throwing up again in a nearby bush. The guys laughed harder. I almost felt bad for Lauren. Almost.

* * *

**A/N: What did you think? Aren't you glad Bella hit Jacob?! Did you like everyone's costumes? I know that the Bonnie and Clyde costumes have been done before but I like that costume so I put it in here. **

**I was going to do the whole Edward getting drunk idea but I thought it was done too many times already so I took it all out. Hopefully, you liked what happened at the party. **

**And the Barbies idea, I got from Never Been Kissed! Another favorite movie of mine! Hahaha ... And did anyone catch the quote from the movie, The Breakup?! I didn't like that movie but I loved the line that Vince Vaughn says. It's hilarious! **

**What's Maria going to do? Well, let's just say things are going to start shaking up soon ... **

**Next Chapter ... Back to School, the Monday after Halloween **

**Please Review and Thanks for Reading! **


	26. Vulnerable

**A/N: Thanks again to all of you! I have the best readers ever! **

**This is purely a fluff chapter but takes a look at the inner feelings of E&B's relationship ... I hope you like it! **

**Don't forget to add King of Ridge Crest Prep to your alerts if you haven't already. It's the EPOV companion piece to this story.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Twilight or Ally McBeal. I do own the storyline and any characters that I make up.**

* * *

**Chapter 26 – Vulnerable **

Song – Vulnerable by Secondhand Serenade

* * *

"What are you all looking at?" I asked popping my head over Alice's shoulder. The group was staring all in one direction.

Edward and I just walked up to them hand in hand getting ready to head to first period class. It was Monday after James's party.

I tried to see what they were looking at and when my eyes narrowed in on the target, I burst out laughing.

There was Lauren Mallory wearing her school uniform and attempting to walk to class. I say attempting because she looked like a duck wobbling. The smaller shoes we left in her room were definitely making her uncomfortable.

Then she was trying to pick at her underwear under her skirt because of the wedgie she had. She thought no one was looking at her but practically everyone was staring. Her skirt looked like it was cutting into her waist and her shirt was so tight it looked like it was cutting off her oxygen. Her rashes were still there but it wasn't as bad as it was on Saturday.

The entire group burst into laughs. We were far away enough for her to not notice us but it was hilarious.

It turned out that when we took out all her school clothes from her closet, we had Scott and Jack shrink everything and then we put it all back without her noticing.

Of course, she always wore short and skimpy things but with the clothes being tighter than normal, she looked like she could barely breathe or the buttons on her shirt would pop off and her skirt would rip down the middle.

"We really got her good!" Brian gave a hi-five to Emmett.

"Let's see what happens during lunch." Emmett said.

I wasn't sure what Emmett had planned but it didn't look good for Lauren.

* * *

"Is there something bothering you?" I asked Edward as we headed to our English class.

Ever since James's Halloween party, Edward seemed like something was bothering him. I didn't know what it was or what it could be. I thought maybe the weekend would be good for him to get it out of his system but he never said anything to me.

It was starting to freak me out. Maybe he was rethinking this entire relationship. What if he thinks that I'm too quirky or too feisty or too stubborn? So many what if's ran through my head. I was starting to feel sick so I pushed it aside.

He stopped walking and turned toward me. "It's nothing."

"I know there is something bothering you." I said firmly.

"There is something bothering me but let's talk about it tonight, we should get to class." He said pulling me toward class.

I took a deep breath.

Uh Oh. This didn't sound good.

He's going to break up with me. I could feel myself starting to take deeper breaths and my heart pounding faster in my chest.

We were only together for a week but why do I feel like my world was suddenly crashing down?

If he didn't want to go out with me in the first place, he didn't have to ask by doing some grand gesture and then breaking my heart after a week. That bastard!

I could hear the cracking of my heart breaking in half.

I stayed silent on our way to class and I knew he could tell I was thinking. "Bella, stop thinking so much about it. It's really nothing."

I stopped walking and closed my eyes. I didn't want him to see me cry.

"Just say it." I muttered.

"Say what?"

"Say that you're going to break up with me. That I'm too weird for you or that you like someone else. I knew it was only a matter of time. And here I am talking crazy because we've only been official for a little over a week. You must think I'm psyc–"

I felt his lips on mine as he pulled me into a deep kiss.

Okay, maybe I was wrong …

He pulled away as I opened my eyes. He looked at me with concern in his eyes. "Bella, I'm not going to break up with you. Why would you think that?"

"Oh, uh … I don't know why." I garbled giving him an embarrassed smile.

The bell rang. "We'll talk about this later, okay?" He said while squeezing my hand reassuringly and leading me into the classroom.

Great, I think I just made this into the most uncomfortable situation ever.

**

* * *

**

"Everyone, look over there." Emmett whispered to us at lunch. I was sitting next to Edward and was leaning against his shoulder.

We all looked toward Lauren's direction. She was trying to eat her food but it was hard because the shirt looked like it was about to bust open with every bite she took.

We started giggling but tried to hide it hoping that she wouldn't notice. Then she glared at our table. She got up slowly trying to move without ripping anything. She looked as stiff as a board. She slowly walked up to our table.

**BUSTED! **

"Hale! Swan! I know you had something to do with this!" She roared.

**POP! **

One of the buttons on her shirt popped off. She didn't notice it but we were all staring at her shirt.

"Don't think that I'm just sitting here not noticing your plan or whatever you call it."

**POP! **

Another button popped off falling to the ground. I hope she's wearing a bra underneath that blouse. I glanced at Rose and gulped.

Is Lauren that stupid to not notice what was happening?

"I know you did this to me! All of it!" She said while pointing to her rashes.

**POP! **

There were only two buttons left now and they were right where her boobs were. I heard muffled laughs as people were trying hard to restrain from laughing out loud. I could sense the fear coming from the guys. Even though they were guys, I'm sure the last person they would want to see naked is Lauren.

She still didn't notice that her shirt was pretty much completely open now.

"We have no idea what you're talking about." Rose replied acting completely clueless.

"Maybe the drugs are finally getting to you, Mallory." Brian sneered.

Lauren ignored Brian and glared at Rose and me. "You better watch out! You'll get what's coming to you!" She hissed.

**POP! **

One button left.

"Ahem." We heard someone clear her throat. I turned to see Ms. Dalton standing there glaring at Lauren.

"Miss. Mallory, would you care to explain why you are threatening our students?" She asked.

"They did this to me!" She said pointing at herself.

Ms. Dalton's eyes widened when she looked at Lauren's uniform then she yelled.

"Miss. Mallory! We have a dress code here and you need to abide by that! You must report to the principal's office immediately! And we need to discuss your habit of threatening other students."

She said motioning to Lauren to walk with her.

"You! You! UGH!" She shouted and stomped her foot.

**POP!**

Her entire shirt popped open revealing her push up bra stuffed with tissue.

"AH! MY EYES! THEY'RE BURNING!" Someone yelled and I knew it was Brian. The entire food court burst into laughter.

Lauren screamed and wrapped her arms and shirt around her to cover herself. Ms. Dalton looked like she was about to faint. She quickly grabbed Lauren by the shoulders and walked her out of the food court.

"That was priceless!" Scott beamed.

"How did you get Ms. Dalton to come out here right when she was talking?" Steve asked.

"Me and Ms. Dalton are tight like that." Emmett answered while crossing his fingers in the air.

I rolled my eyes at him. Rose slapped him on the back of his head.

"Trust us. We don't want to know." Mark said laughing.

"So I know we're all celebrating that Lauren got caught by the principal but we still don't have proof that she distributed the photo." Rose said.

"That will be coming soon." Emmett smiled evilly.

**

* * *

**

I was pacing back and forth in my room and practically biting my lower lip off. I looked at the clock. 6:57pm. Edward would be here in three minutes to talk.

I still wasn't sure what he wanted to talk about but I was relieved that he wasn't breaking up with me. Stupid me for thinking it but how else was I supposed to take it when he said we would talk later tonight. Any girl would think that!

So here I was waiting for him to get off football practice to come over so we could talk. Luckily, Rose was out. I didn't know where she was at the moment but this gave us the privacy that we needed.

I didn't tell anyone that Edward wanted to talk to me. I wasn't sure if it was something private and I didn't want to go blabbing to the whole world about it.

**KNOCK! KNOCK! **

I flew to the door and flung it open. I grabbed him by his shirt and pulled him inside.

"Gah! I guess someone's excited to see me." He said laughing as I slammed the door.

"Okay, now talk. I've been waiting all day." I said crossing my arms against my chest and tapping my foot on the floor.

He walked over to my bed and put his gym bag on the floor and placed the pizza box on my desk. He was wearing grey sweatpants and a navy blue t-shirt. His hair was slightly wet and falling into his eyes.

He gave me my favorite smile and my heart started to beat faster and I could feel the butterflies in my stomach.

Wait a minute.

I knew what he was doing. He was trying to weasel his way out of telling me.

_Focus, Bella! _

"Stop trying to distract me! Now, tell me!" I said.

He laughed even harder. "Stop laughing!" I said while I walked over to him poking him in the stomach. He grabbed onto my arms and wrapped them around his waist.

"Okay, okay. I'll tell you but can we eat first? I'm starving!" He said.

"Fine but don't think you're getting off the hook just so we can eat." I said.

I grabbed the pizza and sat next to him on the bed. I forced him to watch _Gossip Girl_ with me while we ate.

"Ugh! Why do you like this show?" He groaned.

"What are you talking about?! It's so good!"

"That Chuck guy needs to stop being so weird." He said.

"He is not weird. That's just him. He's Chuck Bass."

"Please do not force me to watch this with you again. I don't know if I'll survive." He wrapped his arms around his neck and pretended to choke himself.

"How can you say that?! Oh, it hurts!" I said mocking him as I clutched my hand to my heart and sighed.

We both laughed. As we finished the pizza, I set the box back down on my desk and turned off the TV.

"Okay, I'm listening." I said.

He laughed again. "You're cute when you're impatient and eager."

I blushed slightly. "Well …" I said motioning for him to go on.

"Okay but I don't want you to get mad."

Why would I get mad?

"Okay, I promise I won't get mad."

He paused taking a deep breath. The suspense was killing me!

"Well, you know how you are good friends with Jasper right?"

Uh oh … he was going down that route. This didn't sound good.

"Yeah." I gulped.

Where was this going?

"Well, I was just thinking about how he was there to help you at the party when Jacob was there. And it bothered me that I couldn't be there for you. I'm your boyfriend and I couldn't help you when you needed it … but."

I knew there was a but coming and it wasn't the one with two cheeks.

"Your best friend was there and he was able to help you instead." He said shrugging his shoulders.

"Say what?" I said sounding confused.

Opps. Did I just say that out loud? Damn it!

He looked at me curiously and then laughed.

"Sorry about that. It just slipped. Okay, let me get this straight. It's been bothering you that you weren't there to 'save' me and you're upset that Jasper was there instead?"

"No, it's not that I'm upset that Jasper was there. I'm glad he was there to help you but I just feel like it was my fault it happened because I didn't go with you to find him. It never would've happened if I was there."

I was about to say something when he raised up his hand signalling to let him finish.

"And I admit that it is hard for me that Jasper is your best friend and I guess I was a little jealous that he was there to help you and I wasn't." He said softly.

"Can I talk now?" I asked.

He nodded his head.

"First of all, it's not your fault. I told you to stay to distract Alice. And it probably would've happened any way if you were there or not. Jacob is just a jerk we all know that. I have no idea why you would even think it's your fault!"

"Second, you have nothing to worry about with Jasper being my best friend. He's just that my best friend and nothing more. He is practically in love with your sister. I mean I know that everyone thought there was something before but really there isn't. Never has been and never will." I said.

He looked at me curiously and laughed.

"What is that look about?" I asked.

"It's just funny because Emmett said the same thing to me."

I smiled at him. "See, so you have nothing to worry about. Is that all?"

"Yeah. That was it."

I wasn't sure if he was fully convinced. I just didn't want him to feel insecure at all. But he was the jealous type.

Correction. Extremely jealous type.

Why was he jealous? I have no idea. Not like there was anything or anyone for him to be jealous about. He was just crazy!

"I can't believe that that was what was bothering you. You know you'll always be my knight in shining armor, right?" I gave him a big cheesy smile showing my bright white teeth.

He laughed.

"What's so funny?" I demanded.

"There's something on your tooth!" He cracked up harder.

**WHAT?! **

I jumped up from the bed and ran to the bathroom. I checked my teeth in the mirror and sure enough there was a black olive skin stuck on my front tooth.

God! This is so embarrassing!

I brushed my teeth quickly and walked back out to a chuckling Edward. My face was a red as a tomato. I hesitantly sat back down onto the bed.

"Bells, don't be embarrassed! It was funny!" He said pulling me closer to him.

I snuggled my face into his shoulder and mumbled. "I know but it's still embarrassing!"

"Aren't you glad that it happened in front of me then instead of a complete stranger? I'm your boyfriend. It's not a big deal."

Yeah, when you look like a Greek God, maybe it isn't. But when you're dating that Greek God. It is!

"Maybe not to you. Mr. Incredible." I huffed.

He smiled at me. "Hey, I have something else to ask you about."

"What?"

"Why did you think I was breaking up with you?"

I cringed. I was hoping he wouldn't ask me about that.

"Well, any girl would freak out when you tell her you have something bothering you and that you want to talk about it later tonight. You know it's not the best thing to say to someone without having her overreact to it."

"I'm sorry, Bella. I didn't mean to scare you. I just … this is hard for me."

I sucked in my breath. Was he saying that our relationship was hard for him?

"No! That's not what I meant. I just can't explain myself correctly." I could tell he was nervous.

"Okay, let me start over. You're my first girlfriend. So when I say things they just come out and I don't really think before I say things but now I know that I have to keep you in mind before I start blurting out things." He said sounding flustered.

"Don't worry, I blurt things out all the time. And this is new to me too but we have to talk about things openly. Okay?" I said.

He nodded his head. "But why would you think that I would break up with you so easily?"

Damn it, not another question.

He was practically asking me why I didn't have faith in our relationship and I felt uneasy.

Maybe I should just kiss him to get him to stop asking me questions. That would be a good distraction.

_Bad, Bella! _

I sighed. "Well, I always think that this is too good to be true. I know you're sick of me saying it but I mean how do you think I feel with 90% of the girls at this school ogling after you. I just feel like you're going to wake up and realize that you picked the wrong girl."

He pulled me closer to him. "Don't ever think that Bella! And clearly you don't see more than 90% of the male population here eyeing you. I picked you three years ago and I'm not going to change my mind. You the only one for me."

"Really?"

"Really." He said as he kissed me.

He deepened the kiss as I wrapped my arm around his neck. I pulled him down so that he was lying on top of me.

He placed his hands on my hips and brushed his fingers along my waist. My heart fluttered. We continued to kiss as I ran my hand through his hair. He groaned against my lips.

"Rosie!" I heard Emmett's voice booming from outside my room.

We froze in place.

Then we heard Emmett's booming laugh.

"SHIT!" We whispered to each other. I saw the fear in Edward's bulged out eyes as I was sure he could see mine.

Emmett would kill us if he caught us making out!

He jumped off my bed and ran to my desk and flung himself on my chair. I smoothed out my blankets and grabbed a book.

Just then my room door flung open.

I quickly opened the book and flung myself lying face up with my back against the headboard and pretended that I was reading while twirling a piece of my hair with my right hand. Edward was on my laptop typing away.

"Oh, hey guys!" I said trying to sound casual while looking up from my book and smiling at them.

"Edward, Bella." Rose said while walking into the room. She was eyeing us suspiciously. And then she smirked at me. She knew what happened.

_Please don't say anything! _

She gave me a look like she was going to keep her mouth shut. Thank god!

Then Emmett walked in behind her and looked at Edward and then at me.

"What were you two doing in here?" He asked raising his eyebrows.

I didn't dare turn to look at Edward to see his reaction.

"Oh nothing, I'm reading and Edward's doing homework." I said and pointed at my book giving him a smile.

Emmett looked at us again. Then he slowly walked over to my bed and took the book out my hand. He turned it right side up placed it back in my hand and said. "Sure."

He smirked at me as Rose laughed.

Damn. We got caught!

Emmett boomed a loud laugh. I looked at Edward who sat there looking completely mortified. I warned him about the embarrassing moments.

Emmett went over to him and slapped him on the back. I saw Edward cringe.

Well, I guess Emmett wasn't mad. That was a good sign.

Emmett started talking to him and I let out a sigh of relief that he didn't flip out.

"Well, I just came to get my stuff. I'm staying at Emmett's tonight." Rose said while grabbing a bag and putting her clothes in it.

Once she was done, Emmett grabbed her bag and they walked toward the door.

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do." Emmett teased as he closed the door leaving Edward and I alone again.

"I am so sorry about that! I should've paid more attention to the book."

He laughed. "I don't think it was just that that tipped him off. I think we were a little obvious. I'm just glad that Emmett didn't rip my head off."

He came over and sat next to me.

"I know. I was surprised he wasn't mad. Well, that's good that he trusts you. I was afraid he was going to take you outside, kill you and bury your body so that no one would find it like he did to my last boyfriend, Justin."

His face went pale and he sat there frozen.

"Kidding!" I said laughing.

"Hello! First boyfriend, remember?"

"Oh, you are so going to get it." He said tickling me.

I wriggled under his grip. "Stop! Edward! Please! Mercy!" I huffed.

He stopped as we both laughed.

"That was mean! You know how ticklish I get." I said and pouted.

He gave me my favorite smile. It took every ounce in me not to pounce on him.

We were alone again and my thoughts went back to what we were doing before. I decided to be bold. I was surprised that I felt so confident around him when I wasn't being stupid and letting my thoughts run off.

I yanked him back down onto my bed. He looked surprised. Then I whispered in his ear. "Now, where were we before we were so rudely interrupted?" I grinned at him evilly and then kissed his jaw. I felt him shiver slightly.

Bad Bella had come out and wanted to play.

* * *

**A/N: I will be leaving it there. I won't go too detailed into the intimate parts and plus this is a rated T story!**

**I hope you liked the bonding. I'm trying to get them to be more comfortable around each other and closer. **

**Hopefully some of the foreshadowing was apparent in here ... things will come up again in future chapters. *hint hint* **

**I will be fast forwarding the time and skipping forward a few months to get us to January faster. **

**Next Chapter ... Christmas and Final Phase of Operation Annihilate Malibu Barbie! **

**Please Review and Thanks for Reading! **


	27. Under Pressure

**A/N: WOW! I can't believe I hit over 500 reviews! This is amazing and more than I could've ever asked for! Thanks again for all those that added this to your alerts and for the reviews! **

**So this chapter is mixed with fluff and some important things that happen. The timeframe is moving quicker to get us to where we need to be. Anything italicized and in quotes is talking through a walkie-talkie. **

**Gotta show some love to my cover songs again! **

**Don't forget to add King of Ridge Crest Prep to your alerts if you haven't already. It's the EPOV companion piece to this story.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Twilight or Ally McBeal. I do own the storyline and any characters that I make up.**

* * *

**Chapter 27 – Under Pressure**

Song – Under Pressure by My Chemical Romance & The Used (Original Version by David Bowie & Queen)

* * *

"No! I'm not doing it!" Edward shouted.

"Oh come on, even Bells is okay with it. We need you to do this!" Emmett pleaded.

All of us were cramped in Emmett's room discussing the next phase of Operation Annihilate Malibu Barbie.

It was now mid-December. Time had flown by so fast and a month and a half already passed. The guys won their championship game last week and basketball tryouts were this week so Edward was busy trying to get everything organized before January.

Christmas break was coming up next week and everyone was busy studying for finals. We barely had time to discuss the rest of our plan at getting the information from Lauren. She didn't do anything else to us because Ms. Dalton and Principal Walker were now watching her after she got caught making threats to us. We just went back to glares and snickers if we ever saw each other.

"Yeah, Edward! Just do it!" Brian said.

Edward shook his head no for the millionth time. "Anything else but that. I'm not doing that."

He looked at me pleading for me to help him. I wouldn't say I was a big fan of the idea but everyone wanted him to go with it and it felt like two against a hundred.

"Okay, guys. I really don't think we should go with this idea of having Edward try to seduce the information out of Lauren. It might end badly." I said trying to help with the situation.

Come to think of it, I really didn't think that Edward could get the information out of her. He was horrible with girls. Didn't they know this by now?

"Aw, come on! Both of you are such debbie downers!" Emmett said pointing to Edward and me.

"What about Jack? Lauren likes him just as much." I said. All eyes landed on Jack. He put out his hands in front of him.

"Hell no! Not me. She freaks me out!" Jack said. Stacy laughed and pecked him on the cheek. They were a couple now and a really cute one too.

"What about you? She likes you too." I said pointing to my brother.

"Hell no! We're not throwing Emmett to the monster." Rose yelled.

"Okay, fine. We'll skip this then and just move to the grand finale of the operation. Are you all good with that?" Emmett said.

We all nodded our head yes.

"Good, because this is what we're going to do." He said rubbing his hands together.

**

* * *

**

"_Em, no nicknames this time!"_ I said into the walkie-talkie.

"_Fine!"_ Emmett huffed from his end.

I was standing inside the Audio/Video room of our auditorium with everyone else but Emmett. Everything was set in place as Mark had his laptop on the table. He had a clear view of Lauren's room. The web cam was still in place.

We could see Lauren sitting on her bed reading a magazine.

"_Initiating final phase of Operation Annihilate Malibu Barbie. Go!"_ Emmett said.

After a few minutes, we heard a faint knock on Lauren's door. She jumped off her bed to grab it.

The door opened and a police officer was standing outside the door.

"Excuse me, are you Lauren Mallory?" The officer asked.

"Y-yes." She said nervously.

"We've been investigating our 9-1-1 call logs and found that a call was placed from your room a few months ago. I need to take you in for some questioning." He said.

"But-But officer, I didn't do anything!" She screamed.

"Miss, anything you say can or will be used against you in a court of law. I suggest you come quietly and peacefully with me. We have setup a station for interrogation on campus. Apparently, there are more than a few 9-1-1 calls made from this school. Teenagers!" He said.

She huffed and followed him outside and closed her door.

All of us burst into laughter.

"_Malibu Barbie is coming! Get ready!"_ Emmett yelled into the walkie-talkie.

Scott started setting up the video camera and Steve was setting up the microphones.

After a few minutes, Emmett came running into the room and closed the door.

"They're coming!" He said.

The A/V room had tinted windows so we could see out but no one could see into the room. There was a table and a desk lamp set up on the stage with two chairs as well as a voice recorder.

We saw the police officer escorting Lauren into the auditorium as he dragged her arm to the table. Scott started the video camera.

"I didn't do anything!" She screamed again.

"Please do not speak to me until we start the audio recording. We have to keep everything recorded for legal purposes." The officer said seriously.

He pulled her into the stage and sat her down in one of the seats. He turned on the light and the video recorder.

He pulled out some papers and set them on the desk. He paced back and forth for a little bit adding to the tension in the room and then pulled out the chair facing Lauren's and sat down.

He cleared his throat. "Now, we have record that you called 9-1-1. You do know that it is a serious offence when you don't actually report a emergency."

"There was something that happened! It was an emergency." Lauren shouted.

We all tried to suppress our laughs.

"What was the emergency?"

"My room it's haunted! The school is haunted!" She yelled.

"Miss, you can't call 9-1-1 for a haunting. That goes against sanction code 5437. We will still have to press charges." He said while scribbling some notes down on the papers in front of him.

"No! Please! My parents will kill me! Anything! I'll do anything!" She begged as she started to cry.

The officer ignored her pleads.

"Is there anything else that you feel you need to confess before we take you in?" He said.

She sobbed a little more and nodded slightly. "Well, what is it? Start from the beginning." He said shining the light at her so it was blinding her eyes.

Here was the moment we were waiting for!

"The beginning?" She croaked squirming in her seat.

"Yes."

Rose and I were on edge as everyone else was holding in their breath waiting for her to confess. Emmett rubbed his hands together in anticipation. She started speaking slowly.

"Well, in kindergarten, I hated this girl named Pam because she was prettier than me so I pushed her into a tree that had a bee hive in it. The bee hive fell and she got stung badly. Her face swelled up for a week." She said looking smug toward the end of her confession.

The police officer looked at her in shock. "She didn't die or anything." Lauren quickly added. Like that would've made a difference.

We all looked at each other.

**WHAT?!**

"And then in first grade, I was at a wedding and a girl named Julie was there who had a prettier dress than me. So I pushed her into the wedding cake making it look like it was her own clumsiness that made her fall. It completely ruined the dress and the wedding. The bride was furious at Julie but no one ever knew I was involved."

We all sighed. So she was really going to start from the beginning.

After an hour, she was barely at what she did in junior high. All of us were starting to fall asleep.

I sat up against the wall with my head leaned against Edward's shoulder. I felt sorry for the police officer.

"Is there a way you can speed this up? How about jumping right to high school?" He said.

Then she went into high school, which took another hour. If I knew it was going to take this long I would've brought my textbooks to study. Everyone was looking at their watches sighing and huffing.

After a few more minutes, everyone started paying closer attention to Lauren's confessions. It turned out that everything she confessed to affected everyone in the room.

She confessed that she stole Annie's essay for English and claimed it as her own. Annie ended up failing the class because of the stunt Lauren pulled.

She also confessed that she stole all of Jenny's ideas for their cheer routines, which made Steve almost run out there and yell at her.

Jenny had to calm him down while the rest of us tried to calm the other cheerleaders down too. It wasn't fair that Lauren was the captain and stealing Jenny's ideas claiming them as her own.

Then she started on senior year.

"I was the one who tipped Tanya off about Bella and Jasper being a couple."

"WHAT?!" Jasper and I screamed. We were lucky that the room was soundproof.

"Bella was getting all this new attention. God, I don't even know why. She's so normal and she's not even pretty."

Edward was about to run out the door. I could see the fury in his eyes. I had to grab onto him and hold him back. Rose looked like she was about to punch someone as she glared at Lauren.

"So I took the photos of them and sent them to Tanya to include in her article. I also tricked Tanya into believing that I was actually friends with Bella. Not that that would ever happen. But I told her that they were dating since freshman year and Tanya believed me." She started laughing her evil witch laugh.

Then she finally confessed to what got us here in the first place. "And then a few months ago, I had one of my friends, Sarah take a picture of Bella and Rose in the locker room changing and we distributed the fliers around the school. For an added effect, I wrote sluts and whores and their phone numbers across the flier."

Yes! I hi-fived Rose while everyone else silently cheered.

"And then I put my underwear in Jack, Emmett and Edward's closets to make it look like we had something going on. I hoped that their girlfriends would find it but I haven't heard anything yet. And they are all still together even though they should be mine."

"WHAT?!" Emmett, Edward, Jack, Rose, Stacy and I all shouted in unison.

"THAT'S IT. I'M GOING TO KILL BARBIE!" I lunged for the door swinging my arms as Edward grabbed onto my waist holding me back.

"LET ME AT HER!" Rose screamed. Emmett grabbed onto her holding her in place.

Once we calmed down I turned to Edward.

"Did you ever find that in your closet?" I asked as I saw Rose and Stacy asking Emmett and Jack the same question from the corner of my eye.

God, I hope it wasn't dirty underwear. That's disgusting.

"No! I never found anything. How did she get into my room in the first place?" He said sounding freaked out.

"Well, you better change your lock today! And we have to disinfect your closet." I said. He nodded in agreement.

I wonder what else she did in his room. I shuddered at that thought.

Once she was done with all her confessions, which pretty much affected everyone in the A/V room, we were all ready to kill her!

The police officer cleared his throat. "That's enough Lauren. We will not be pressing any charges but all of this will be reported to your school."

"WHAT?!" She screamed.

"I'm sorry but that is what we have to do." He said firmly.

"You may go back to your dorm now and wait to hear from Principal Walker."

She stood up stomped her foot and ran off back to her room.

"And that's a wrap!" Scott said while cutting off the camera.

"You guys can come out now." The police officer said as we filed out of the room.

"Great job, Felix!" Emmett boomed.

"Hey, cousin! Thanks for sitting through all of that." Brian said.

It turned out that Felix was a real police officer who was on his break today. He was Brian's cousin and offered to help us out and scare Lauren.

"No worries. That girl really is something that's all I have to say. She could get into a lot of legal trouble for some of the things that she has done. I won't put that against her but at least you have proof now of what you need to show your principal."

"Thanks for helping us out!" Rose said.

"Truly, we owe you." I said.

He shook his head no. "Don't worry about it. I'm glad I could help."

We put everything away and made sure that Principal Walker would see the tape.

**

* * *

**

Finals. I was freaking out.

Everyone was busy studying. Everywhere you would turn you would see people holding up flash cards or with their faces buried in their textbooks. It was like a blanket of dark clouds descended upon the school. Everyone was uptight and nervous. You could feel the tension in the air.

On top of all that, I still wasn't sure what to get Edward for Christmas. And I was drawing a complete blank.

It turned out that Edward and Alice were going with their parents to Colorado for the entire Christmas break since they had a cabin in Sundance and it was a family tradition. I was bummed that I wouldn't be able to spend Christmas break with him and Jasper was just as upset that he couldn't be with Alice.

I was sitting at Edward's desk studying in his room. We rarely spent time in his room but it was a lot quieter than mine. That was why he insisted that we study in his room for finals.

His room was smaller than mine since it was a single room. It had a small kitchenette and a queen-sized bed with a black couch in the corner. It was immaculately clean since I knew that Edward was extremely anal about being neat and tidy.

He was out at basketball tryouts so I was alone and wearing one of his sweatshirts and a comfy pair of navy blue shorts. I had been studying for the last three hours straight and my brain was starting to hurt. I needed a break. My eyes searched around the room.

_I could look around and peek at what he got me for Christmas. _

I always hated surprises. He knew that and decided to torture me. He still wouldn't tell me what he got me for Christmas even though I was sure I bugged the hell out of him by asking him almost everyday. It was eating at me.

_Don't do it, Bella! _ The angel sitting on my right side said. _You shouldn't be snooping around his things. _

_Yeah, but you want to know what he got you for Christmas! And you won't be snooping around his things. You're just looking for your present._ The devil sitting on my left side said.

I shook my head clearing my thoughts. What should I do?

I decided that Bad Bella had won out. I had to know.

I got up from the desk. Where should I check first?

Closet. Definitely the first place to check.

I opened the closet door and rummaged around. There was nothing that looked like wrapped gifts or anything. All I saw were clothes and a folded white piece of paper.

_What's this? _

I picked it up and opened it.

_**Bella, stop looking for your gift! You'll never find it! - E**_

How did he know I was going to snoop? Was I that obvious?

Of course, that made me want to keep going. He wasn't going to get the best of me!

I went over to the kitchen area and looked around and found another white piece of paper in one of the cabinets.

_**Not even close, Bells! - E**_

I huffed. I went over the couch and looked behind it, around it and under the cushions. Another piece of paper fluttered onto the ground as I lifted a cushion.

_**Will you finally stop looking now? – E**_

"No!" I yelled and stomped around the room. It was driving me crazy!

I walked into the bathroom and looked through the cabinets. I found another note taped to the inside of the cabinet door.

_**Still cold. Very cold. – E**_

He knew all the places I would check and he was taunting me with the little white notes. It was maddening. I looked under the bed and found another note.

_**Would I really hide your gift under my bed? – E**_

"Oh! Ugh!" I said finally about to give in.

Then I eyed the desk and it was like a bright light bulb lit up over my head.

"It has to be there. There is no other place. I checked everywhere!" I said talking to myself.

I ran over there and frantically opened his desk drawers. I still didn't see anything. I opened the last drawer, which was the biggest drawer and something else caught my eye.

It wasn't a gift but it was filled with folded pieces of paper from our school newspaper. That was odd. I didn't know that Edward collected our newspaper. I picked up the first piece and opened it.

My eyes widened. It was my article from Monday's paper. I looked through the large stack. I could tell that some of the pieces were old as they were starting to yellow in color.

How many did he have? I started shifting through the stack.

I gasped. He had collected all my articles since sophomore year in school. He even had the very first article that I wrote.

I could feel the tears filling my eyes as I wondered why I was so insecure. I had the best boyfriend in the entire world and someone who was just as much into me as I was into him. I wasn't crazy!

I couldn't contain the excitement flowing through my body. I ran to his bed and started jumping up and down on it. I didn't care if he would get mad. I was thrilled.

Just then I heard the door opening. I got scared that I immediately fell onto his bed with a loud "Ompf".

I positioned myself so that I was face up with my hands behind my head trying to act like I was just sitting there.

"What are you doing?" He asked giving me a smirk.

"Nothing." I replied innocently.

Then he looked around the room and his mouth dropped open in shock.

**OOPPS! **

I forgot to clean up after my ransacking of his room. It looked like a tornado ran through it.

"I will clean it up, I promise." I said.

He laughed. "I guess that means you found my notes then."

"Yep." I beamed.

He looked confused. "Then why are you so happy?"

He obviously didn't hide the gift in here and he was wondering why I could've been so happy. I wasn't sure if I should tell him what I found. He might be embarrassed so I thought I'd wait for him to tell me one day. I ran over to him and threw my arms around his neck.

"I just have the best boyfriend in the whole world. What's wrong with that?" I said.

He pulled away from me and looked me in the eyes. "I know something is up. I'll find out sooner or later."

"It's nothing."

"Sure." He teased.

I pulled his lips to meet mine, which I was sure got him to forget everything.

**

* * *

**

"We're finished!" I said running out of Biology with Edward in hand.

"How did you do?" I asked.

"I think I did okay. We'll see though when we get back. What about you?" He said.

"Eh, finals weren't too bad. Not as bad as I thought it would be."

We didn't have our last period today since it was finals day so I didn't have to report to the newspaper office and Edward didn't have to go to basketball tryouts since they finished with it yesterday.

We saw the rest of the group standing around talking.

"What's going on?" I asked as we walked up to them.

"Did you hear about Lauren?" Alice asked.

We shook our heads no.

"Principal Walker saw our tape and told her that he would have to report it to the police and press charges or she would have to leave the school." Steve said.

"WHAT?!" I said as my eyes bugged out of my head. I didn't think she would get expelled for what she did.

"So then guess what happened?" Scott said.

"What?" Edward and I said in unison.

"Her parents were called and didn't want the police involved so they took her out and transferred her to Hilltop!" Jenny said.

"So she's gone?" I asked.

"YES!" Rose replied excitedly.

"She's out of our hair for good!" Stacy beamed.

"But what about your cheerleading squad? Who's going to be captain?" I asked.

"You're looking at her right now!" Jenny said giving me the biggest smile.

All the girls started screaming and jumping up and down. I was so happy for her. She definitely deserved it rightfully without having her parents pay for her to get a spot like Lauren.

"So Lauren is really gone?" Edward asked.

"Yeah, man. She's gone!" Emmett said slapping him on the back.

"Who am I going to make fun of now?" Brian whined as everyone laughed.

Edward looked relieved. His number one stalker was leaving the school and when we came back in January we wouldn't have to worry about her!

But something was still bothering … would Maria take her place?

**

* * *

**

**KNOCK! KNOCK! **

I went to open the door to my room. Jasper was standing in the doorway holding a wrapped gift as he walked into the room. Rose was out with Emmett so we were alone. This gave me the time to ask him about Maria and Alice.

"Hey Jazz, come in." I said.

He walked in and plopped down on the beanbag. "Hey, Bells."

I handed him his gift and he handed me mine. "Open it!" He said.

I tore away the wrapping paper and found a leather bound copy of Jane Austen's _Pride and Prejudice_.

"Thanks, Jazz! I love it!" I gave him a hug.

He opened his gift, which was a special edition chess set made with Civil War characters. He had a fascination around the Civil War and I could never understand why.

"Thanks Bells! I can't wait to play it."

"Yeah, knock yourself out with that!" I giggled.

Then I got serious and looked him in the eye.

"Jazz, did you tell Alice about Maria yet?"

His face went from smiling to serious in sixty seconds flat.

"Bells, I told you that I'll take care of it."

"Yeah, but Edward and Alice are leaving tomorrow and we won't see them again until school starts. When are you planning to tell her? You only have tonight and were you planning to tell her tonight?"

He looked down at his shoes.

"No! I didn't think so. What are you waiting for? Why are you holding off on this? You know it's going to end off badly if you don't tell her sooner." I crossed my arms against my chest glared at him.

"Bells, she doesn't need to know what happened before." He said still not looking at me. He was looking everywhere but me. He was definitely nervous.

"Why not?"

"Because that was a long time ago and nothing happened."

"I know that nothing happened but Alice has a right to know. And what if Maria says something first? God only knows what could come out her mouth and I don't think it'll be pleasant."

"Don't worry. I'll take care of Maria."

"Oh really? And what do you expect to do? Cut out her vocal cords? Blackmail her? Because I'd like to think that whatever you plan to do is legal."

"Don't be so dramatic. I was going to talk to her."

"And how are you planning to do that?"

God, I hope he didn't have her phone number secretly hidden from us all this time.

"On the first day of school in January."

My eyes bugged out of my head.

WHAT?!

"Are you asking for a death wish from Alice? You can't just go talk to her. Someone will see you two alone and gossip will spread like wildfire. There has to be some other way."

He sighed. "I don't want to think about it now. Can we just drop the subject?"

"Fine. But don't say that I didn't warn you about this."

I was so irritated with him and he knew it. It was silent.

"I'm late. I have to meet Alice for dinner." He got up from the beanbag and made his way to the door.

Just as he opened the door, Edward was standing in the hallway about to knock on the door.

"Hey Edward." Jasper said giving him a nod.

"Hey Jasper." Edward said.

"See you two." Jasper said walking off toward Alice's room.

"What was that about?" Edward asked as he walked into the room and closed my door.

"Oh you caught his annoyed expression, huh?"

He nodded his head.

I just remembered that I wasn't supposed to talk to Jasper about Maria.

**DAMN IT! AVOID! AVOID! **

I looked away and walked over to my bed. "Oh it was nothing. He's just annoyed with me. We get into our little arguments here and there."

"Bella, did you talk to him about Maria?" He asked.

How come he could always read me so easily?

I couldn't lie to him. Plus, he would know within seconds.

"Fine. I did. He needs to do something about it Edward. You guys are leaving tomorrow and he still hasn't said anything and you know what stupid idea he came up with?"

"He said he wants to talk to Maria on the first day we get back from break. Is he crazy?" I said pacing back and forth biting my lower lip.

"Stop!" Edward caught me.

"Why are you so stressed out about this?" Edward asked.

"Something bad is going to happen. I know it. And the more he sits on this it's just going to get worse."

"Bella, Alice and Jasper can handle this on their own. Please tell me that you won't get involved anymore while we're gone."

I looked up at him and into his eyes. He knew I would do anything for him if he asked.

I slowly nodded my head. "That's my girl." He said hugging me.

"Now, let's exchange our presents before we go eat, okay?" He said.

I completely forgot about the gift exchange. I went to my closet and grabbed the envelope and hid it behind my back as I turned to walk toward him.

I gasped when I saw what he was holding in his hand.

It was a small box and it wasn't just any box. It was an easter egg blue color with a white bow wrapped around it. Tiffany & Co.

I nearly passed out. Not that I thought he was going to propose because we were way too young for that but at the thought that he got me something from that store.

He handed me the box as I walked up to him in shock.

"Edward, this is too much. I can't accept this."

"You haven't even opened it yet. Nothing is ever too much for you. Please open it." He pleaded.

I slowly opened the box to find a silver charm bracelet inside. I picked it up out of the box and looked at it. It was engraved with a quote.

"_**My Heart is Always With You - E" **_

I looked at him with tears filling in my eyes.

"I wanted to get you something that you can wear that would remind you of me. I know we can't always be together but hopefully every time you look at this you'll know that I'm always there with you."

"I love it!" I croaked wrapping my arms around him and smothering him with kisses.

"Can you help me put it on?" I asked wiping the tears from my eyes.

He clasped it onto my wrist. Once it's going on, it's never coming off. Someone would have to hack off my arm to get it off me.

"Here is my gift to you. It's not much but I hope you like it."

I handed him the envelope. He opened it and his eyes went wide. I thought they were going to pop out of the sockets.

"Edward, are you okay?" I said waving my hand in front of his face. His eyes were glazed over. I thought only I did that.

"Bella?! How? How did you get these?" He said sounding breathless.

"I asked Jasper and Rose's dad to help me out. He has season tickets."

"But these are worth thousands of dollars!"

"Really? I didn't know that. He doesn't always go and gives them away to people. I was lucky to snatch up a pair and all I have to do is bake him my famous peanut butter chocolate chip cookies."

The next thing I knew my feet were off the ground as he picked me up and hugged me so tightly that I could barely breathe. Then he started planting small pecks on my cheek.

"I guess someone really likes my gift!" I chuckled.

"Bella, I'm practically speechless. These are courtside seats to the Lakers. They are practically priceless."

"Don't know what that means but I'm just glad you like my gift!"

"Oh, you'll know what I mean when you come with me and you're sitting next to Leonardo DiCaprio!" He said.

"What?! Those are the same seats that I see in _US Weekly _every week with all the celebrities?"

"Exactly. And you are coming with me."

"Are you sure you don't want to bring someone else that at least understands the game?"

"I wouldn't want anyone else to come with me."

And then I saw my favorite smile, which I knew I was going to be without for the next two weeks and I felt sad.

"Sweetie, why are you sad?"

"I just remembered that you're leaving tomorrow and that you'll be gone for two weeks." I pouted.

"We'll call each other every day."

"Yeah, I know. I'm just going to miss you." I said burying my face into this chest and inhaling his sweet scent.

"I'll miss you too. Let's go grab dinner and then maybe we can watch a movie?" He said.

"Sure." I said as I grabbed my things and we headed out the door.

How was I going to survive two weeks without him?

* * *

**A/N: Well, were you surprised that Lauren is now gone? She did a lot of horrible things! Things you'll read more about in the EPOV story. I originally had this in mind of Lauren leaving when I started this story but now that Maria is coming ... things will not be all sunshine and rainbows! **

**Did you like the final phase of Operation Annihilate Malibu Barbie? I got the confession idea from my husband who then also reminded me about it from the movie, Goonies, which I love!! **

**And I got the notes about Bella looking for her gift from Friends. Of course, it's not Monica yelling at the gang for being suckers for trying to find their presents but it's a tweaked idea of it!**

**Did you get the inference of Edward saving Bella's article from the EPOV Story? She finally found them ... so sweet! **

**Next Chapter ... Christmas Break and Start of School Again ... Dum Da Dum Dum DUMMM!! **

**Please Review and Thanks for Reading! **


	28. No Air

**A/N: I cannot believe that I am now over 550 reviews!! You are all the best readers I could ever ask for! This is amazing! Thanks again for all those that added this to your alerts and for the reviews!**

**So this is a very fluffy chapter, I hope you like it! Read on!! **

**Don't forget to add King of Ridge Crest Prep to your alerts if you haven't already. It's the EPOV companion piece to this story.**

**D****isclaimer: I do not own any Twilight or Ally McBeal. I do own the storyline and any characters that I make up.**

* * *

**Chapter 28 – No Air**

Song – No Air by Jordan Sparks & Chris Brown

* * *

_Tell me how I'm supposed to breathe with no air_

_If I should die before I wake_

_It's cause you took my breath away_

_Losing you is like living in a world with no air, oh_

Edward was lying next to me on my bed in my room at my parent's house. We were chatting away and I felt whole again.

_I'm here alone, didn't wanna leave_

_My heart won't move, it's incomplete_

_Wish there was a way that I could make you understand_

These past two weeks while he was gone, I realized something about my feelings but did he feel the same? I wasn't for sure.

Was it really love? He was all I thought about from the second I would wake up in the morning to the second I would fall asleep at night.

I thought about him constantly and without him around I felt like someone had ripped the ground out from under me. It was harder to be away from him than I thought and these two weeks nearly killed me.

"Edward, I have something to tell you." I said.

He looked at me and motioned for me to say something. I took a deep breath. Here goes.

_But how do you expect me_

_To live alone with just me_

_'Cause my world revolves around you_

_It's so hard for me to breathe_

"Edward, I lov–"

"Bel-la! Bel-la!" Edward's mouth moved but Rose's voice was coming out from it.

What?!

_Tell me how I'm supposed to breathe with no air_

_Can't live, can't breathe with no air_

_That's how I feel whenever you ain't there_

_There's no air, no air_

**BAM! **

My door flung open and I screamed falling off my bed.

**THUMP! **

"Ow!" I hissed rubbing my butt cheek.

"Bella, you're still listening to this song? God, you've been playing this on repeat for the past two weeks now." She said as she walked over to my laptop.

_Got me out here in the water so deep_

_Tell me how you gonna be without me_

_If you ain't here I just can't breathe_

_There'a no air, no air_

_(No Air – Jordan Sparks and Chris Brown)_

She turned off the music as I got back up on my bed and buried myself under the covers.

"Oh no you don't." She demanded and pulled the covers off me.

"Stop, Rose, can you let me go to sleep, please?" I turned around to my other side not bothering to look at her.

"You are not sleeping. All you're doing is listening to depressing music, wearing his clothes and staring at your bracelet all day long like it's magically going to make Edward reappear."

"I am sleeping." I wasn't going to admit that she was right. I did stare at my charm bracelet all day long and I did think that somehow it would make the time go by faster so that I could see Edward again. I also wore his sweatshirt every day and his scent was slowly fading from it.

"No, you're not. And stop arguing with me. You are getting up and out of bed today. We are going to hang out and your parents are having their annual New Year's Eve party tonight and we are going to celebrate New Year's Eve like normal people instead of this moping around shit that you've been doing this entire break."

I groaned. She was right again. Aside from talking to Edward on the phone practically for two hours every day I didn't do much at all during the whole two weeks. It was too cold to go to the beach and I didn't feel like going shopping and having to rough it out with last minute shoppers.

If anything, I baked like crazy and made enough cookies to feed my entire school. Of course, we gave the cookies away to my parent's friends and relatives but it helped keep my mind off things and got me out of bed.

Jasper wasn't any better than I was from what Rose told me. He locked himself up in his room playing video games and tried to pass the time quicker. He had been avoiding me ever since I confronted him about Maria and Alice. I didn't care. He was being the stubborn idiot! Not me this time around!

"Come on, get up! Take a shower! And we'll bake pies for tonight, how does that sound?"

"Fine." I growled getting up from my bed. I grabbed my things and went to take a shower.

I came back out dressed in jeans and a tight grey t-shirt. Rose wasn't in my room which meant she was waiting for me downstairs. I trudged downstairs and saw Lucy cooking in the kitchen and Rose grabbing ingredients from our pantry. Lucy was our housekeeper.

"Good Morning, Miss. Isabella!"

"Lucy, I've told you so many times, you don't have to call me Miss or Isabella. Just call me Bella. Please." I said.

She smiled warmly at me and nodded. She was always trying to be professional but I hated it. I just wanted her to feel comfortable around me but after four years now I don't think I got anywhere with her.

"What are we going to bake today?" I asked.

"Apple Pies and Carrot Cake." Rose answered from the pantry.

She came back out and placed the ingredients on the kitchen counter. It was good to keep my mind off things.

I went to preparing the dough for the pies. Just as I was putting flour in the mixer, my cell phone went off. I dropped the bag on the floor causing a cloud of flour to fill the air while I ran to grab my phone. Rose rolled her eyes at me.

Lucy practically had a heart attack. I raised my arm up to her telling her not to do anything with the flour. I was going to clean it up and I didn't want her moving an inch.

"Hello?" I coughed into the phone.

"How's my Bella?" Edward said. My heart flip-flopped whenever he called me that.

"Great now that I heard your voice." I heard a bunch of noises in the background and it didn't sound right. Where was he?

"Edward, where are you?"

"I have a surprise."

"Edward I warned you about surprises."

"This is good. Trust me."

"Okay, fine. What is it?"

"We're coming back early! We're actually at the airport right now and I'm leaving in about five minutes."

"Really?!" I nearly screamed into the phone.

"Ow! Deaf ear."

"Sorry about that. Are you really coming back early?" I asked.

"Yes. I'll call you tonight. We just have some dinner thing that we have to go to with my parents but I'll come over right after that."

"Okay! I can't wait to see you."

"Me too."

I was about to do it. About to say I love you but I held myself back. I can't do it the first time over the phone. Was I insane?

"Bells, we're boarding now so I have to go help my mom with her carry on luggage. I'll see you soon okay?"

"Yeah, see you soon." _I love you._

We hung up. I set my phone on the counter and went to cleaning up the flour that I spilled.

"So I take it that Edward is coming back early?" Rose said.

"Yes. He's at the airport right now. He's going to call me after he finishes dinner with his parents tonight." I smiled widely.

"Well, I'm glad that someone is still alive and breathing." Rose laughed.

We finished up the pies and cakes and went back up to my room. Rose started looking through my closet.

"What are you going to wear tonight?" She asked.

"Ugh! I don't know. I hate this party. Every year it's the same stuck up snotty people aside from our parents of course. The only thing I'm happy about is that no one ever brings their kids. I would seriously throw myself over a cliff if I had to entertain their kids."

"Tell me about it. If we got stuck baby sitting snobby spoiled children that would be the worst." Rose said.

She continued looking through my closet and I thought this was the best time to ask her about my feelings for Edward.

"Rose?"

"Yeah?"

"How did you know when you were in love with Emmett?"

She turned around and looked at me. "Is this about you and Edward?"

"No, it's about me and Mike. Yes, it's about me and Edward! Who else could there be?" I rolled my eyes at her.

"I was just saying, sheesh! Okay, well, you just know. You have this feeling that's indescribable. It's like you can't live without the other person. And that person is all that you think about. Why?"

"I think. I think I'm in love with Edward."

"You think? Hello? Everyone knows that you are madly in love with him. And you just figured this out?"

"No, I've been thinking about it for awhile now. And I'm new to this. How am I supposed to know what it feels like? And what do you mean everyone knows?"

"Alice, Jenny, Jasper, Emmett."

"What?! Emmett knows?!"

"Yeah, we talk about the two of you."

"What do you say?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary. You guys are a cute couple. A lot of people probably talk about you. Anyways, Emmett's not mad if that's what you're trying to get at."

"Oh good. I'm surprised he's taking this so easily and not flipping out."

"He likes Edward. Plus, I help keep him balanced."

"Thanks Rose. And I don't need to know what you have my brother doing to keep him balanced." I giggled.

"He loves you too, you know." She said. I looked at her confused. Was she talking about Emmett? I knew that.

"Edward. He loves you too. I can tell from the way he looks at you. His world revolves around you. You're like the only thing he sees."

"Like how Emmett looks at you." I said and she nodded.

My heart raced knowing that Edward might feel the same. But I was still so scared to say it. I didn't know when I would find the courage to do it but I knew I would do it soon.

**

* * *

**

"Bella! Are you ready?" My mom knocked on my door and walked into my room.

"Oh honey, you look beautiful." She said staring at me.

I was wearing a dark navy blue strapless A-line tea-length dress. I left my hair down in long curls and put on some light makeup.

"The Hales are coming soon. And then everyone else will be here in thirty minutes."

"Oh joy!" I said sarcastically.

"Bella, I know you hate these parties but please enjoy tonight. Some of our friends will be bringing their children tonight so I hope you and Emmett will help entertain them."

Ugh, this is what I didn't want to do. Now I got stuck on babysitting duty all night. Hopefully, Edward could come over and help me if he didn't mind looking after a bunch of little kids.

"I'm just happy to see that you're feeling better. I really need to meet Edward soon." She teased.

I told my mom about my relationship awhile back. I showed her pictures of us and she ogled at them or more at him. She even tried to get a copy from me so that she could put it up in her office. I put my foot down. That would be too embarrassing.

She talked to my dad about it and like any reaction that I expected from him he didn't make a big deal about it. He was always so passive about everything.

The bell rang signalling that the Hales were here. My mom went downstairs and got the door. We greeted everyone and I gave another batch of my cookies to Henry. This was the fifth batch I'd given him since break started but he loved them.

"Thanks Bella! How did your boyfriend like your gift? What was his name again?" He asked.

"Edward was so excited. Of course, I had no idea what he was talking about but he loves it so thank you so much Henry!"

"Any time, Bells." He said ruffling my hair.

Jasper looked anxious like he wanted to leave as soon as possible. He was wearing a grey suit with a white shirt and black tie. "Why are you so antsy?" I asked.

"Didn't Edward call you?"

"Yeah. And?"

"Well, I just want to hurry up and finish dinner and meet up with Alice."

"Yeah, but they have dinner with their parents tonight so just relax. Sheesh, and I thought I was the one that couldn't wait."

We walked over to Rose and Emmett who were having a private moment. Rose was wearing a sleek long red strapless dress. Emmett was wearing a black suit with a white shirt and red tie to match.

"Did mom tell you?" I asked Emmett.

"Tell me what?"

"That we're on babysitting duty tonight."

"WHAT?!" Jasper, Rose and Emmett said in unison.

"Yeah. I don't know how many kids and how old they are but we have to do it."

"Great!" They all groaned.

Just then the doorbell rang. "Looks like the fun is about to begin." I rolled my eyes.

For the next thirty minutes, guests started to arrive. There were a handful of kids. More than I thought would come. They never had kids come before and I had no idea why they thought this year was a good year to bring them.

We decided to use the family room as the play area. The kids ranged from different ages. The youngest was Mindy who was four. Next was Bobby who was six as well as Amy. Then there was Becky who was seven and Chris who was eight. The oldest were two identical twins who were ten-years old, Peter and Ivan.

At first all the kids were running around screaming but we were able to distract their attention to other things.

Becky was latched onto Emmett's back as he gave her a piggyback ride around the room.

Jasper was trying to get the twins and Chris to play the Wii with him. Amy and Mindy were coloring with Rose as Bobby was following me around asking me questions.

"Why is the sky blue?" Bobby asked.

I didn't know what to say. "Because it's blue."

He stared at me in confusion. What was I supposed to say?

"Why is the grass green?"

"Because it's green." More confused looks. This wasn't good.

"Can you give me a piggy back ride like what Emmie is doing to Becky?" Bobby asked.

"Um … Bobby, I'm not that strong. Why don't you wait until Emmett is done and then you can go on for a piggy back ride?"

"Okay." Bobby said playing with his car toys. Luckily, his parents brought him toys to play with. We were starting to run out of ideas to entertain them with.

"Bella, you know you look like Belle from _Beauty and the Beast_." Amy said.

I patted her head. "That's nice of you to say. Thank you."

Mindy was coloring and then she stopped and said. "I want to play horsey."

What the heck is that?

She kept repeating herself and then she started crying loudly so I picked her up and put her on my back as I crawled on all fours and she rode on top of me.

"Yay! Go horsey!" She cheered.

"How come the horsey is not working? There is no noise." She kicked my sides.

Then I started to crawl around neighing like a horse, which would cause Mindy to squeal with laughter.

Just then the doorbell rang. Chris started chasing Bobby around as they ran around the room in a circle screaming. I was starting to get a massive headache.

Rose was trying to get them to quiet down. Jasper was completely in the zone playing the Wii as Emmett was still running around with a giggling Becky flinging from his neck like a rag doll.

"Bella, Rose, Jasper, Emmett, come over here! We have more kids for you!"

I groaned. MORE!?

Oh Good God! I was about to faint!

"Mom, we're a little busy! Can you just bring them in?" Emmett responded.

I continued to crawl around the room on all fours. Mindy was now kicking my sides getting me to hurry up and to continue neighing. I started a loud neigh and then I heard the one voice that I was dreaming to hear in person for the past two weeks.

"Well, howdy little lady!" I froze in place. Was I dreaming?

Then I heard a pixie-like giggle.

I looked up from where I was on all fours.

"Edward?! Alice?!" I said as red flushed to my cheeks. Definitely not the way I wanted to greet my boyfriend after two weeks.

He laughed as I looked up at him. Mindy was holding her arms out for him to pick her up and take her off me.

"This horsey is broken." She muttered.

We all laughed. He picked her up and put her down on the floor her so I could stand up.

I stood up quickly and brushed off my dress and my hair.

"What are you doing here?!"

"Well, it turns out that our parents know each other."

"No way!"

And then I realized that my Edward was standing in our family room and back from his trip. He was wearing a black suit with a light grey shirt and black tie. He looked gorgeous as always. I flung myself at him in a big hug wrapping my arms around his neck tightly. I wanted to kiss him on the lips but I knew my parents could walk in any minute so I kissed his cheek.

"EWWW! You just kissed him." Bobby said with his face scrunched up.

I pulled away from Edward slowly realizing that we had kids as our audience. Rose and Emmett laughed.

"And you kissed her." Bobby said to Jasper as Alice slowly pulled away from him.

"Girls have cooties. Didn't you know that?" Chris said matter-of-factly.

We all laughed.

"Hey, how about we watch _Finding Nemo_?" Emmett said while setting Becky down.

"YAY!" The kids cheered. We popped in the DVD as they all settled down to watch it. That calmed everyone down in a second.

The rest of us gathered around in the corner of the room.

"Who knew that a Disney/Pixar movie could quiet down a whole room of kids?" Rose said.

"Yeah, if we only thought of that sooner." I snorted.

We talked about our Christmas breaks and exchanged stories. Apparently, I wasn't the only one moody during the break. Alice gave me an earful about Edward being brooding Edward. I guess being apart affected both of us the same.

Halfway through the movie we were called to dinner. We walked into backyard which had a white tent pitched up and tons of round tables covered with white linens. My parents went all out for their annual party so it looked like we were at a wedding.

They made all us "kids" sit at one table so we could watch the younger kids while they ate. There was a large buffet table and caterers walking around. We stood in line getting our food. I was helping Bobby as I saw Edward helping Amy grab food for her.

We all sat down and started eating. Luckily, the kids were well behaved and seemed to enjoy the food that was served.

Then I saw my parents as well as Jasper and Rose's parents walk up to our table followed by a man and a woman that I didn't recognize. The man was tall with blonde hair and hazel eyes. He was strikingly handsome. The woman was shorter with long caramel colored wavy hair and green eyes and then I realized instantly who they were.

"Kids! How's dinner? I see that you are already familiar with our guests here." Renee said beaming at me and then smiling at Edward.

"Mom, Dad. This is my boyfriend, Edward and my best friend, Alice." I said.

"Ew! Boyfriend?" Chris said puckering up his face. Everyone laughed.

"Mr. Swan, Mrs. Swan. It's a pleasure to meet you." Edward said shaking their hands. I could tell he was somewhat nervous.

"Please call me Renee. I've heard so much about you."

"And you can call me Charlie. I heard a lot about you from Emmett. Don't worry son. It's all good things." Charlie said while patting Edward on the shoulder.

I could tell Edward felt more relaxed now that both of my parents approved him. I gave him a reassuring look as he smiled at me.

Jasper introduced his parents to Alice and Edward as well. Edward also thanked Henry for the tickets and was ecstatic when Henry said that he could get more tickets for him for future games. I think I lost my boyfriend after that. He was completely zoned out and in shock.

After he snapped out of it, Edward introduced me to his parents. He told me so much about them and they seemed like such a loving family that I always worried if they didn't like me. Of course he assured me that they would but I was still nervous.

"Bella, these are my parents, Esme and Carlisle." He said as I shook hands with them.

"Edward talks a lot about you. It's so great to finally meet you Dr. and Mrs. Cullen."

"Bella, please call me Esme. And I've heard a lot about you for a long time now. It's so nice to finally _meet_ you." Esme said wrapping me in a hug.

I saw Edward's cheeks flush a little at what Esme said. It was cute that he talked about me to his mom and for so long. I could feel the same heat rising in my own cheeks.

"And you can feel free to call me Carlisle. We've heard a lot about you and Emmett from both Edward and Alice." Carlisle replied trying to take the focus off Edward.

"You don't know how excited we were to find out that Renee and Charlie were your parents and that we were coming to the same dinner party. Of course, we kept it a surprise from Edward and Alice but let me tell you, I'm glad that something has finally been able to put a smile on my son's face. He's been a wreck for the past two weeks. I don't think we'll ever go to Sundance again without you." Esme whispered to me.

"Mom, what are you saying to Bella?" Edward asked.

"Oh it's nothing. I'm just telling her how beautiful she looks in her dress. Isn't she stunning?" She said winking at me.

"Always." Edward said smiling at me.

It turned out that Esme recently met my mom and dad because she was called to be the interior designer on one of their projects. It was such a small world.

After the parents left and walked off mingling with other guests we went back to paying attention to our table and the kids that were sitting there. Bobby was sitting next to me and I was helping him cut his steak into smaller pieces for him to eat. Edward was doing the same to Amy's steak.

We all started eating and chatting away. Then I felt something mushy hit the side of my dress.

**PLOP! **

"Gah!" I gasped and looked down at the orange mess that was clumped to the left side of my chest.

"Opps. I'm sorry." Bobby said.

I turned to look at him and he looked like he was about to cry. I felt so bad. I thought he did it on purpose and was about to scream at him. Not that I would ever scream at a kid but I could tell I was getting angry. Emmett was laughing his head off while Rose and Alice stared at me in shock.

"No, don't cry. It's okay. It's only mashed carrots. Look. It's gone." I said while wiping it off myself. Bobby looked relieved.

"Good going, now you ruined her dress." Amy sneered at him.

"Did not." Bobby said.

"Did too." Amy said.

"Hey, he didn't ruin her dress." Edward said breaking up their bickering. And then he took a pile of mashed potatoes and plopped it on his shirt.

"See." He said while wiping it off showing a wet stain smack in the middle of his shirt.

"Not ruined." He said. Bobby was grinning from ear to ear.

"COOL! Can I do that too?!" Ivan said reaching for a giant spoon of mashed potatoes.

"NO!" We all screamed at him except for Emmett who shouted. "Yes!"

"No! Don't listen to Emmett. Only grown ups can do it." I said glaring at Emmett.

Was he crazy?!

Luckily, a food fight didn't start or our parents would kill us. The kids went back to eating and I turned to Edward.

"That was nice what you did for Bobby. You really didn't have to do that to your shirt." I said giggling.

He laughed. "I know but I felt bad for the little guy. I had to do something."

"We'll have Lucy help clean the shirt for you after dinner. I'll go find you something from Emmett's room that you can wear in the meantime."

After we finished eating, we took the kids to watch the rest of _Finding Nemo_. They were all sprawled out on the floor and all over the couch. I grabbed Edward's hand leading him upstairs so we could change. I had no idea where Alice and Jasper disappeared off to but Rose and Emmett were watching the kids, which gave us a break.

I gave him a tour of the house and I showed him my room, which thankfully was clean and not messy. I told him to wait in there until I got back from Emmett's room.

As I walked back into my room, I saw Edward sitting on my bed looking at a picture that I had near my nightstand. It was a picture of us at the bonfire. I knew it was taken before we were a couple but someone caught a picture of us looking at each other and smiling while Edward was carrying me bridal style. It was one of my favorite pictures of us.

"Hey. I got this for you. It's one of Emmett's smaller sized t-shirts but I think it'll fit you well enough while Lucy gets your shirt cleaned up for you. You can go change in the bathroom." He looked up at me and smiled.

He placed the frame back down. "I didn't know you had this picture."

"Yeah, Jenny took it with her camera when we weren't looking. I stole it from her stash." I giggled.

He stood up from my bed and grabbed the shirt from my hands and went to the bathroom to change. I went to my closet to find a pair of pajama pants and Edward's sweatshirt.

He came out and sat down on my bed waiting for me as I changed.

"Ready to go deal with the kids?" I said reaching out and grabbing his arm to pull him off my bed. He nodded as we headed downstairs.

We found Emmett and Rose cuddled up on the couch with the kids. Everyone was asleep. I was sure Emmett drained all his energy from giving piggyback rides and Rose was tired from coloring and having to shout at everyone. It was a cute sight and I looked at Edward and suppressed my laughs with my hand.

"What should we do now?" I whispered to him.

He shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know."

"How about we go back upstairs then?" I said. He looked hesitant but I pulled his arm dragging him back to my lair.

Once we got back to my room, we both sat on my bed and talked while listening to music. It was so easy to get caught up in our conversations. We could talk for hours and it would only feel like a couple of minutes had passed by.

Eventually, he had his arm wrapped around me and I buried my face into the crook of neck. I missed everything about him and now that he was back I felt whole again.

We counted down the New Year in my room away from the whole party raging downstairs. Plus, I didn't want to see all of my parent's friends drunk. I had to deal with that before and it's not a pretty sight.

After our first New Year's kiss, we started kissing more. Then he was on top of me and we were practically making out in full force. I wasn't sure if that was such a good idea being that we were in my parent's house and my door wasn't fully closed or locked but I didn't care. I was enjoying the moment!

Just then I heard a knock on my door. "Miss. Isabella!"

Edward's eyes widened. I pushed him off me as he fell off my bed and onto the floor.

**THUMP! **

"Ow!" He whispered.

"Hide!" I whispered. I sat up sideways and propped my head up with my elbow to face the door trying to hide Edward. "It's Bella, Lucy. What did you need?"

Lucy pushed my door open. "I have Mr. Edward's shirt here pressed and cleaned. Have you seen him?"

"Nope. I haven't seen Edward." I lied. Luckily, she couldn't tell that I was a bad liar.

"What should I do with Mr. Edward's shirt?"

"You can put it over there on my desk chair. I'll give it to him when I see him." I said. She walked over to my desk chair which was far away from the other side of my bed. If she caught him in here, she might tell my parents and then I'd be in big trouble.

"Did you need anything else, Miss. Isabella?" She asked.

"No, I'm fine. Thanks Lucy. And it's Bella!" I repeated.

"Oh and Miss. Isabella. That Mr. Edward is very good-looking. You two make a very nice looking couple."

"Thanks Lucy." I smiled at her.

"You're welcome Miss. Isabella. Good night." Lucy said while walking toward the door. I was about to correct her again when I heard Edward's voice.

"It's Bella."

Lucy turned around and looked around the room with narrowed eyes. I smiled at her not making any change in my facial expression and not moving. She looked confused. Hopefully she would think she was hearing things.

I cleared my throat. "Good night, Lucy."

She walked out of the room as I got up from the bed and closed the door.

"Ed-ward! Where are you?" I hissed looking around the room.

He climbed out from under my bed. Good thing I didn't have anything hidden under there.

"Why did you say something? Lucy almost caught you!" I scolded.

"Sorry, but it was bugging me that she kept calling you that and it just slipped."

He looked so cute that I couldn't be mad at him.

"Does she always call you that?"

"Yes. I hate it. I've tried to tell her so many times but she doesn't listen."

"Yeah, I was about to tell her to stop calling me Mr. too."

I handed him his shirt as he went to change in the bathroom. It was getting late now and I didn't want him to leave. But my parents would kill me if he spent the night.

We went downstairs to see that most of the kids were gone now and Emmett and Rose were watching a movie on the sofa.

"Where did you two go?" Rose asked raising an eyebrow.

"We were in my room listening to music." I answered.

"Oh really?" Emmett teased.

I rolled my eyes at them and they started laughing as Edward and I turned bright red.

What was the big deal anyways? They were always making out in front of everyone. I swear it was like they lived to torture us. It was starting to annoy me.

"Where's Alice and Jazz?" I asked changing the subject.

"They went back to our house." Rose replied.

Good, hopefully, Jasper was telling Alice about Maria. We had to be back at school in two days and I did not want any drama.

**

* * *

**School was starting up again. Winter break was over and everyone was moved back into the dorms again. It was good to see everyone after two weeks. Some had tans from their vacations in the Caribbean or Hawaii while others were still pale white.

Of course, everyone was buzzing about the new students. There were a few others aside from Maria.

It was Monday morning and I grabbed the paper and went back into the room. Rose was getting ready in the bathroom.

I scanned the headlines and saw one that stood out.

**Out with Lauren Mallory, In with Maria Ramos** _– Lauren Mallory transferred to Hilltop Prep. And Maria Ramos comes to us from Texas. Will she be the new Queen B? _

That was the last thing we needed. Maria as Queen B. Ugh!

Just then Rose came out of the bathroom. I quickly tried to hide the paper. I remembered that she didn't know about Maria. And Rose not knowing about Maria was a bad thing.

"What are you doing?"

Damn it! I got caught. Why me? Always me!

"I'm just putting the paper away. I'm done reading it." I said trying to play it off.

"I want to see it."

"There's nothing new in there." I said. Hopefully she would drop it.

"Come on, Bella. Let me see it."

I gave up. I sighed and threw the paper at her. I waited to cringe as I saw her reaction.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" She screamed.

"Calm down, Rose." I said.

"Did you know about this?" She hissed.

"Well, I sort of kind of bumped into Maria at James's Halloween Party and she told me that she was coming here in January." I cringed waiting for the yelling to start.

"Does Jazz know about this?" She asked.

"Of course, I told him. And I've been bugging that idiot brother of yours to tell Alice since then. I hoped he told her on New Year's."

"He better or I will have his ass! I can't believe she's here. Right when I thought things would turn around with Mallory gone we have something else to deal with. Ugh!"

"I know. But Rose, I have a bad feeling about this. Maria is not good news."

"I know Bells. I don't trust that girl for anything and especially when it comes to my brother."

**

* * *

**

"Did you see the paper?" Edward asked.

"Yeah, I saw it this morning. Rose found out and it wasn't pretty." I whispered to him.

Rose and Emmett were talking next to us. Both of them were clearly pissed off about the news regarding Maria.

"Bella! Rose!" Rose and I turned around to see Maria running toward us.

Rose sighed next to me.

"Hey Maria." I said as Edward squeezed my hand.

Maria eyed Edward again and I almost wanted to punch her in the face. Then her eyes went to our linked hands and she looked away.

_GOOD! Stay away, biyatch!!_

"Edward, Emmett." She purred.

They both nodded toward her with Emmett glaring at her.

"Have you seen Jasper?" She asked.

"Stay away from my brother!" Rose hissed.

Uh oh. This wasn't going good.

"Are you still not over what happened Rose? That was so 8th grade and a long time ago. I'm different now. So where is he?"

Rose ignored her.

"I'm sure he's around with _Alice_." I replied trying to be as vague as possible and emphasizing on Alice's name so she would get the clue.

"Okay then, I'll find him on my own." Maria sneered and turned around walking away.

"This is not good." Rose said shaking her head.

"Not good at all." I added.

We were definitely in for a New Year and I didn't know if good or bad times were ahead.

* * *

**A/N: Oh the drama! Maria, Maria ... **

**And what about Bella expressing her feelings to Edward?! When is a good time to tell your first love that you love them? *Sigh***

**So I had to include the parentals in here at least once! **

**And I don't have any kids and I rarely interact with children so I just made up completely how they would act. It might not go with the ages in this story but this is fiction and I couldn't think of any other way to go around it. I wanted to include the kids because I thought it was funny. And I know that babysitting duties always happen when parents have parties.**

**And opps! Almost got caught by Lucy! Bad Bella & Edward!  
**

**Next Chapter ... Revenge on Jacob! It will be fun! **

**Please Review and Thanks for Reading!  
**


	29. Poker Face

**A/N: Okay, so I know I sort of disappointed with the last chapter. Even I was disappointed with it. It was definitely one of my worst chapters as I've been getting lazy lately and I wanted to crank out a chapter for you. But I'm back on track! And I hope you like this chapter! It made me laugh out loud! Thanks again for all the amazing reviews and alerts!  
**

**I'd like to thank SavageWoman for helping me out with this chapter. Without her, things would just be confusing. Thanks for reading this over and making changes to it along with some great additional lines! I appreciate all the support and encouragement!**

**I'd also like to thank LiLi26 for offering to translate this story into French! She already posted up the first chapter! Check it out if you want to read this story in French! I posted the link in my profile!**

**I smell trouble ... Read on below.**

**Don't forget to add King of Ridge Crest Prep to your alerts if you haven't already. It's the EPOV companion piece to this story.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Twilight or Ally McBeal. I do own the storyline and any characters that I make up.**

**

* * *

****Chapter 29 – Poker Face**

Song – Poker Face by Lady Gaga & All the Small Things by Blink 182

* * *

It had been a week since school started. Luckily, Maria didn't start any trouble ... yet. I knew that Jasper was avoiding her so she never got a chance to talk to him. She would stop me in the hallways always asking for him but I played dumb every time.

It was Friday night and the six of us were crowded in Emmett's room playing _Guitar Hero_. I was playing the drums, as Rose was the lead guitar. Edward was playing the bass guitar and Emmett was the singer. He insisted that he was the singer even after we all said no. Eventually, we gave into his whining and let the big baby sing. Alice and Jasper were both on their laptops surfing the internet and watching us at the same time.

We were toward the end of playing _All the Small Things by Blink 182_. Emmett sang into the microphone hitting all the notes. He wasn't so bad. He was actually a good singer. We were all pleasantly surprised.

_Say it ain't so, I will not go, turn the lights off, carry me home_

_Keep your head still I'll be your thrill, the night will go on, my little windmill_

_Say it ain't so, I will not go, turn the lights off, carry me home_

_Keep your head still, I'll be your thrill, the night will go on, the night will go on, my little windmill_

_(All the Small Things – Blink 182)_

I could hear Jasper calling my name loudly over the music. After a few seconds, the song finished and we all stopped playing turning to face him.

"What Jazz?" I asked.

"Bells, you have to see this," he said pointing to his laptop screen. Alice took a peek at it and gasped. Her eyes bulged out of her head.

"What? What is it?" I asked.

Jasper turned the laptop to face us. Rose gasped and Edward and Emmett both yelled in unison, "What the?!" I was sure my eyes were practically shooting out of their sockets. There in front of me was a picture of Jacob and me on his Facebook page. He had his arm wrapped around me. Funny thing was I never took a picture with him.

"What is THAT?!" I screamed. Everyone looked at me curiously. Edward looked hurt and I knew this was bad. Really bad. I had to defend myself.

"What?! You really think I took a picture with that dickwad?"

"You didn't?" Alice asked.

"Of course NOT! Over my dead body will that ever happen!" I shrieked. I saw Edward looking relieved.

"That freak super imposed your head in the photo!" Rose yelled as Emmett was having the time of his life laughing his butt off.

"It looks so real," Emmett said through his laughter.

"Well, apparently there is more than just one photo," Jasper said scrolling through the pictures. Jacob cut and paste my head on practically a whole album of photos. There were pictures of "us" at a picnic, the beach, _Disneyland_. He even named the photo album "Time with My Gal."

I wanted to vomit and scream and yell and KILL JACOB.

"Bella, Bella, are you okay?" Alice asked.

"NO BECAUSE I AM GOING TO KILL HIM!" I screamed. Edward wrapped his arms around me to calm me down.

"Calm down. Okay aside from the fact that I find this freaking hilarious, even though I should be upset but I can't be because he's a freak of nature. We are getting back at Jacob tomorrow," Emmett said.

"Good, because that son of a bi–" I yelled.

"Bells, don't worry. We're going to get back at him," Edward said resting his hands on top of my shoulders.

"Yeah, that jerk will never know what hit him," Rose said.

"This changes our plans though. We need to re-think our strategy. And I have an idea," Emmett said tapping his fingers to his chin.

Whatever my brother had planned, it had better be good because Jacob Black was going DOWN!

* * *

"Okay, Bells. We're ready. Just make the call and remember to act flirty," Rose said.

"How am I supposed to do that? I can barely even do that with Edward." The guys laughed as I glared at them.

"Bel-la! Stop! You can do this. It's all fake anyways," Alice said.

"I know that but what if he doesn't buy it? What if he knows I'm faking it? Then the whole revenge plan will just go to waste," I said.

"You can do this, Bells," Emmett said confidently.

"But you all know that I'm a horrible liar. He can probably see through it too." I tried to weasel my way out of this horrible idea but they kept pressuring me.

"Nope, I doubt it. Only we know that you're horrible at lying and he's too dumb to not know it," Jasper said.

I sighed. There was no point in arguing. They were going to get their way.

"Fine. Give me the phone," I said as Rose handed me her cell phone. She was the only one out of all of us that had a blocked number.

"Do you have the phone number?" I asked.

"Here," Edward said giving me a small white piece of paper with Jacob's phone number written on it. He called around to a few people he knew at Jacob's school and was able to get it.

I dialed the number and placed the call on speakerphone so everyone could hear what was going on. The phone started to ring.

"_Hello?"_ A deep voice answered.

"Hey, is this Jacob?" I said putting on my fake Lauren Mallory voice. The guys looked surprised and raised their eyebrows at me. I used to imitate Lauren's voice to Rose and Alice, which they both thought was comical. I was actually pretty good at conjuring up a fake sweet voice.

"_Who's this?"_ Jacob's voice squeaked as everyone covered their mouths from laughing out loud.

I nudged Rose and Alice hoping they would shut up. "It's Bella. Bella Swan."

There was a pause and silence. Was he still on the line?

Emmett looked at me and motioned toward the phone telling me to say something. "Are you still there?"

"_Yeah."_ He coughed and cleared his throat.

"Listen. I saw those photos of me on Facebook. And, you know, I was surprised that I didn't think about this sooner but the pictures really made me think about the potential of us. You know we could really make it a reality." I tried to hold back the vomit that was slowing rising up my throat. Edward gave me an encouraging nod.

"_I thought you were dating that pretty boy, Cullen."_ Emmett suppressed his laughter by biting on his arm. Edward glared at the phone. He hated when people called him pretty boy.

I gulped. What was I was supposed to say? Alice and Rose glared at me practically screaming at me to make something up.

"Yeah, well, what he doesn't know won't hurt him." I felt sick saying that even though I knew I was pretending. I gave Edward an apologetic look as he squeezed my hand reassuring me that it was fine.

"So did you want to meet up for some fun?" I added trying to get to the point of this whole revenge plan. There was a pause. Did he not buy it? I did kick the guy in the balls and punch him in the face so I doubted that he would even believe me unless he was that stupid.

"_Sure."_

Okay, he's that stupid.

"Meet me tomorrow at this location." I preceded giving him the exact directions to where he needed to be.

"_But that's out in the middle of nowhere."_

"Just come at 9 p.m. Wear only your boxers and a trench coat."

"_Why?"_

Emmett wrapped his arms around himself and puckered his lips trying to signal to me what to say. I had to hold in my laughter.

"Because that's the way I like it. It turns me on. I'm kinky that way. Now are you in or out?" Everyone burst into suppressed laughter. Alice was holding onto her stomach with tears coming out of her eyes.

"_I'm in. There is no way I'm passing up on this,"_ Jacob said trying to sound sexy. I made a gagging face to the phone.

"See you tomorrow then." Rose and Alice nudged me to add in more.

"I'll be waiting for you," I said in my fake Lauren voice trying to purr and then I hung up the phone chucking it on the bed.

"That was by far the worst thing I've ever had to do. Ugh! Disgusting!" I squirmed.

"That was awesome!" Emmett boomed with loud laughter.

"Good job Bells! I didn't think you had it in you," Jasper said.

"Since when could you talk like Lauren?" Edward asked.

I shrugged my shoulders. "I just did it one day to make fun of her to Rose and Alice and it stuck. Did I sound like her?"

"It was scary. Promise me that you won't do that again." Edward cringed and then laughed.

* * *

"Alice, is this really necessary?" I asked holding onto the black ski mask that she just handed to me.

"Yes! Now everyone has to put these on." She started handing ski masks to the rest of the group.

We were all dressed in black and sitting in a black van with no windows on the sides, that Emmett rented. I was surprised that we were going all out for this. We recruited Brian and Scott to help us in our efforts since we knew that Jacob was a big guy.

"Jasper, you're the driver. Alice, you're in the passenger seat filming until you switch with Brian. Everyone else is in the back with me," Emmett said. We all nodded.

"Did you get everything?" Edward asked us. Rose, Alice and I nodded our heads.

"Good! Let's go!" Emmett said.

Jasper started up the van as we made our way to the location where Jacob would be waiting. We weren't going to kill him. We were going to scare the shit out of him and throw in some pain.

After a good twenty minutes, we were getting closer to the location.

"We're almost there," Jasper said.

"Good, now slow down and turn off the lights," Emmett instructed. "Once you see him, pull over to the side. Rose, you swing open the door. Bells, you get the duck tape ready and the rest of us will grab him."

"I see something! Stay down and put on the masks!" Jasper yelled. We all ducked out of sight and started putting on the ski masks. "He's waiting and wearing the trench coat," he added.

"This is going to be so good!" Alice squealed while turning on the video camera.

"Now, drive quicker to the side and let us know when we can open the door. Rosie, get ready to swing the door open," Emmett ordered.

Jasper sped up a little and then stopped the car abruptly. He yelled out, "NOW!"

In the blink of an eye, everything happened all at once and extremely fast. The van door flew open as Emmett, Edward, Brian and Scott jumped out and grabbed onto a screaming and kicking Jacob. They managed to hold him down and throw him into the van as Rose slid the door shut.

"DRIVE!" Brian yelled holding down one of Jacob's hands.

"Take off his coat!" I yelled as the guys removed the jacket revealing Jacob in only his boxers that were black and had "Hot Stuff" written all over them in bold red letters. I immediately went to taping Jacob's hands and feet together. He was struggling and screaming like a girl.

"Who are you? What do you want from me? I'll give you anything. Please don't hurt me," he screeched.

"We're not going to hurt you, idiot!" Rose hissed.

"But we didn't say anything about torture!" Scott added as Emmett laughed.

Jacob's eyes went wide as I taped a large piece of duct tape over his mouth to shut him up. He was still squirming so Scott held down his legs while Emmett held down his arms. Alice climbed out of the passenger seat switching places with Brian and handing him the video camera. Edward went to grab our things out of a big black trash bag. I sat down on one side of Jacob as Rose sat on the other side.

"Ready?" I asked.

"Ready," Rose confirmed.

"Ready," Alice said.

"Wax," I called out to Edward as he dug through the bag and handed me a large jar of hot wax.

"Stick," Rose called out as Edward handed a wooden flat stick.

"Fabric Strips," Alice called out as Edward handed her white strips of fabric.

As soon as Jacob saw the wax in my hands, his eyes went wide and he started squirming and screaming through the tape.

"Mmphf."

"Hold onto him tightly. This is going to hurt like a bitch!" Rose ordered as Emmett and Scott gripped harder to Jacob's arms and legs. Jacob's eyes looked like they were going to pop out of his head.

"Calm down, Jacob. This won't hurt one bit," I sneered pouring the hot wax on his legs. Rose went to smearing it around and Alice laid the fabric down on top of the wax.

"Now, you need to learn how to treat women with respect," I said while Rose grabbed hold of a piece of fabric and pulled as hard as she could. All of the guys winced at the loud ripping sound while Jacob screamed. The fabric ripped right off his skin leaving it smooth as all of his leg hair came off.

"And you need to learn not to talk about women like they are pieces of meat," Alice said while I ripped off another strip. More screams. Tears were coming out of his eyes.

Did he have to be so dramatic? It was only waxing. You'd think we were cutting off his arms and legs.

"And you need to learn not to grab women's asses whenever you feel like it, jerk!" Rose yelled while Alice ripped off another strip.

We continued ripping off the fabric until his legs were completely smooth.

"Nice job, ladies!" Rose said hi-fiving us.

Jacob sighed. He seemed glad that it was finally over.

"Oh, we're not done yet," I said. His eyes went wide again.

"Tweezers," Alice called out as Edward handed her a pair of tweezers.

More muffled screams.

"Hold onto his head," I ordered Rose as both of us grabbed onto a side of his head, which he was violently shaking at this point.

"Jacob, this won't hurt at all. Don't you want to look pretty?" Alice said. She jumped on top of him and sat down cross-legged against his chest.

"Now, you need to learn not to photo-shop girl's faces on fake pictures that were never taken before and claiming her as your girlfriend," I said as Alice started tweezing.

He was squirming even more now and screaming.

"And you have to remove all fake photos from Facebook," Rose said.

He nodded his head.

"If we catch you doing any of this again to another girl, you will get worse than waxed legs and plucked eyebrows. Got that?" I hissed.

He nodded his head again.

"Now, say auntie!" Alice screamed while body slamming him.

Nice touch!

"Umpf."

Then we heard the muffled sounds of Jacob screaming out auntie. I had to hold in my laughter. It was the funniest thing I had ever seen.

"Don't forget we have this all on tape and if you keep your mouth shut then it doesn't go on You Tube. Got that?" Emmett hissed. Jacob nodded his head.

Edward took out the two white signs that we made with the words LOSER written on them. Then he taped one to Jacob's chest and the other on his back as we pulled right up in front of his school. There was a soccer match going on and the game was about to end.

We flung open the van door and pushed him out as he hobbled along the sidewalk. We threw his trench coat at him, which fell onto the ground by his feet.

"Have a good night, loser!" I yelled while the van door shut closed and Jasper sped off. We all took off our ski masks and burst into laughter.

"Oh My God! That was the best thing ever!" Alice squealed through her giggles.

"Remind me never to get on your bad side, Bella," Scott said through his laughter.

"That was priceless! Bells, that was such an awesome idea!" Brian said giving me a high five.

"I don't think he'll be bothering anyone again after that," Edward added kissing the top of my head.

"That looked so painful. Seriously, I don't know how you girls stand doing that stuff," Emmett said with a grimace.

"Women can handle more pain than men. Thank you very much," Rose said proud of herself.

We continued laughing the entire way back to school. When we parked the car, we got out and Edward swung his arm around my shoulders as we walked toward the dorms.

"Now, let's go see if he took those photos off Facebook," Edward grumbled telling me that the green-eyed monster was making an appearance.

I smiled at him.

"Someone's been jealous, huh?" I teased.

"You have no idea." I stood up on my tiptoes and gave him a kiss.

"You're cute when you're jealous. I like it!" We laughed as we made our way back to my room.

* * *

It was Monday morning and another new week of school. Jacob took down the photos that night which was a good sign. I don't think we'll hear from him ever again.

I went to the front door and grabbed the paper bringing it inside.

_What was in Tanya's column this week?_

**"GAH!"**

I gasped as I stared at the pictures displayed in front of me. They were pictures of Jasper and Maria in what looked like an intimate conversation. They also looked like they were hiding. Of course, Maria looked more than friendly with Jasper in the pictures. Some of the photos had her touching his face and leaning into him. Jasper did not look like he was enjoying it but the pictures could definitely be taken out of context. They looked like they were hiding something romantically

**Maria Ramos and Jasper Hale? Is there trouble brewing for Alice and Jasper?** – _Has Maria set her eyes on Alice Cullen's boyfriend, Jasper Hale? Looks like something is brewing between the two and from what we heard these two have a history. _

I threw the paper at Rose who was now getting up from her bed as my phone rang.

"Jasper, I hope to God that you told Alice about Maria because this does not look good!" I screamed into the phone. Rose had a look of shock on her face as she was staring at the newspaper.

"_I messed up, Bells – big time."_ He sounded like he was in pain.

My call waiting beeped on the other line and I saw that it was Edward. He would have to wait because I had to bitch out my idiot best friend, right now.

"YOU NEVER TOLD HER! You are in deep shit." I screamed pacing back and forth in my room and biting my lip.

"_What do I do?" _Jasper asked sounding deflated.

"Fix it, idiot! NOW!" I screamed and hung up the phone. He'd better be calling Alice right now. I was fed up with him. I knew this was going to happen and he didn't listen to me. I only hoped that Alice was okay.

I called Edward back right away.

"_Something's wrong with Alice,"_ Edward said as he picked up the phone. He saw the paper. He knew. I could tell by his tone of voice.

"What's wrong?" I asked in concern.

"_She's not picking up her phone and she always picks up her phone. Can you check on her?"_ He said sounding worried.

"I'll go with Rose and call you back." We got dressed quickly for school and made our way to Alice's room. I knocked on the door and there was no answer.

"Alice, it's Rose and Bella. Are you in there?" Rose asked pounding louder on the door. Where in the hell was Jasper? He should be here.

I saw the door open slightly. We pushed it open and saw Alice wearing her pajamas with the newspaper sprawled out all over the floor. Her eyes were red and puffy. I could tell she was crying. I pulled her into a hug. I could only imagine what thoughts were going through her mind right now. If this happened to Edward and me, I would be shocked too.

Just then, there was a loud pounding on the door.

"Alice, let me in!" Jasper screamed.

"NO! I don't want to talk to you right now!" She yelled.

"Just let me explain!" Jasper pleaded.

"Go away!" She screamed.

"Let me go talk to him," I said as Rose pulled Alice into a hug. I opened the door slightly and saw Jasper, looking out of breath and messy. He was never messy with his appearance. He must've just thrown on his uniform and ran over here.

"She doesn't want to see you right now and I don't think it's a good idea." I said firmly. He was not going to get past this door.

"You told me to fix this and I'm fixing it." He yelled clearly frustrated that Alice didn't want to talk to him.

"That was before I saw her and she's a mess. So no, you need to give her some time. I'll talk to her, okay?" I said.

"Fine," he scowled and walked away. I closed the door and went back to Rose and Alice.

"Is it true?" Alice asked with a weak voice. My heart jumped out for her. She was sad and confused. I shook my head no.

"Of course not, Jasper would never cheat on you. That's just Tanya being stupid with her dumb column," Rose said letting go of Alice.

"Then why does it look like there is something going on and how does he even know her? I thought she was new here." Rose looked at me anxiously. Should we tell her? I knew it wasn't our place to tell her but I had to say something.

"She is new here but we know her from junior high," I answered.

Alice's eyes widened. "What? You all knew and you didn't tell me."

"Alice, Jazz needs to be the one to tell you and I think you should really talk to him. Besides, you know that stuff in this column isn't always true," I said as I started to feel guilty for not telling her in the first place. I was supposed to be her best friend.

"Edward told me that most of the time it's true but just exaggerated." Alice said sounding dejected.

"Yeah, but remember the time when it said that I was dating Jasper. That definitely wasn't true." Hopefully, that would be enough to convince her.

She slowly shrugged her shoulders. "Yeah, but there are the pictures."

"So? They don't show anything but that bitch throwing herself at him." Rose scoffed. Alice looked hesitant to believe us but I could tell we were slowly making her feel better.

"Now, are you ready to go to class?" Rose asked.

"Yeah." She said slowly giving us a weak smile and making her way to the bathroom to change.

Rose threw me a what-are-we-going-to-do look and I sighed. For some reason, I had a feeling that this was only the beginning.

* * *

**A/N: Alright so the cat is out of the bag. Alice knows. And it sucks the way she found out about Maria. She's confused and there are a lot of questions going through her mind right now because let's face it. Seeing pictures of your boyfriend getting close with someone and looking like they are hiding as well as a newspaper confirming a history and friends! What else would you think? Will Jasper redeem himself?**

**I hope I'm not making this overly dramatic. If it is, oh well. They are in high school and everything is overly dramatized in high school. Hahaha ...**

**Did you like the Jacob prank? I thought I went too far but it was just too fun to keep going! I know guys are super sensitive to waxing and plucking eyebrows, unless they are a total pretty boy. And trust me, I have guy friends who tweeze their eyebrows. They always told me it was extremely painful in the beginning. And the first time I ever got waxed was extremely painful. So I'm sure guys would feel twice the amount of pain as we do.**

**Next Chapter ... Winter Formal!**

**Just a heads up but I will be traveling all next week so I won't be updating for awhile.**

**Please Review and Thanks for Reading! **


	30. Earth Angel

**A/N: Please don't kill me!! Alright so I know I haven't updated in forever but I was moving and I was having a lot of trouble with writing this chapter. I thought about it a lot and how I wanted it to happen so I hope you are pleased with it. Just keep in mind that I'm still trying to get situated back in the US so my updates this summer will not be as frequent since I'm crazy busy at work too, which reminds me that I should be in bed now because I have an early meeting tomorrow morning. UGH!  
**

**Thanks to SavageWoman for helping me out again with this chapter. As you know I'm not good with being descriptive in the physical aspect of intimate conversations so I had some help from SavageWoman!! Thanks again!! **

**You know I love my cover songs and Death Cab for Cutie sings this old 50's song. I love it! On to Winter Formal (Dresses in my profile)!  
**

**Don't forget to add King of Ridge Crest Prep to your alerts if you haven't already. It's the EPOV companion piece to this story.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Twilight or Ally McBeal. I do own the storyline and any characters that I make up.**

**

* * *

****Chapter 30 – Earth Angel**

Song – Earth Angel by Death Cab for Cutie (Original Version by the Penguins), Jailhouse Rock by Elvis Presley, Johnny B. Goode by Chuck Berry

* * *

"What's going on?" Edward asked as he walked up next to me.

"Oohhhh … who are you listening to?" Emmett asked as he rubbed his hands together.

"Jasper and Alice are talking inside our room," I whispered quickly and pushed my ear closer to our door. Rose was too busy concentrating to notice that Edward and Emmett had showed up.

I could barely make out the muffled sounds of Jasper and Alice's voices talking about what happened with Maria.

The entire day had been awkward to say the least. Alice was carefully avoiding Jasper all day. Jasper was sulking the entire day and let's just say that lunch was the most uncomfortable thing I had to sit through with pretty much the entire group splitting up. Some of the guys understood Jasper's point of view while the others only listened to their girlfriends and sided with Alice.

Emmett, Rose and I ended up sitting in the middle trying to be neutral through the entire situation. The non-stop glaring contest from both sides at lunch made it uncomfortable to eat. That didn't help, as Edward was moody the entire day. Alice always told me his moodiness was not a good thing and I had yet to see the extent of it. I was already irritated and wondering why he was so mad at Jasper. Edward was the one that stressed that it was none of our business in the first place.

Men! So annoying! Can't understand them but you can't live without them.

"Bella, I don't think that's a good idea," Edward warned.

"Oh come on, they are going to tell us anyways. We're just trying to save them time," I justified. I knew it was bad to eavesdrop but they were both my best friends and really, I'm just saving them from having to re-tell the conversation to me later.

"This is a private conversation for them. How would you like it if someone listened to our conversations?" Edward countered.

"Shhh! We can't hear anything so be quiet. Stop being such a killjoy, Ed-turd!" Rose hissed. I slapped my hand over my mouth to suppress my laughter as Edward glared at Rose. She loved making fun of him almost as much as Emmett did.

"Hey, I want a play-by-play!" Emmett pouted.

Rose leaned into the door before whispering, "Okay, he's begging for forgiveness … she's shouting at him 'Why, Jasper? Why?'" Emmett was listening intently and I knew Edward was following along too, but he was pretending that he wasn't.

"He said it was because he didn't want to hurt her," I whispered. Then I paused, "Wait, wait, he says it's because he didn't want her to think there was something going on with Maria."

"Too late for that," Edward mumbled.

"Alice just asked him if he still has feelings for Maria," Rose whispered.

"Ooohhhh … that's a good one. What did he say?!" Emmett asked.

"NO! Of course not. He doesn't have feelings for Maria," I said pulling myself away from the door. I didn't have to listen to know the answer to that question.

"Now he's declaring his love for Alice and to forgive him," Rose whispered. I got closer to the door again. Some girls passed us in the hallway but Edward and Emmett stood guard in front of us shooing them away.

"Oohhh, what's going on now?" Emmett asked.

"I think they are okay now. I don't hear anything," I said. Just then, I heard footsteps getting closer to the door.

**CRAP! **

"They're coming toward the door! Whatever you do, don't look at them! Pretend to do something," Rose hissed while grabbing onto Emmett's hand and pushing him against the wall and shoving her face into his.

How did she do that so quickly? I jumped away from the door and pulled Edward down to the floor. I fell down into his lap ignoring the 'oomph' from him, and started to pretend that we were talking the entire time by looking intently at his face.

Just then, the door flew open and we pretended to not notice by not looking at them.

"We know you guys were listening," Alice chirped. She sounded like she was back to her old self again which was a good sign. She was acting so not like Alice the entire day that I was beginning to miss the hyperactive pixie.

I looked up at Alice guilty as charged. Alice and Jasper laughed. "So is everything okay?" Rose asked pulling away from Emmett.

"Yeah, it was all a misunderstanding. And I hate Maria by the way!" Alice added.

We laughed. "Don't worry we feel the same!" Rose and I replied in unison. Alice and Jasper looked at each other and I could tell things were going to be okay between them.

**

* * *

**

"Why can't you just trust Jasper? The entire week you've been trying to prove that he's lying and I don't know why," I asked Edward.

We were sitting on my bed and to be honest, my gorgeous boyfriend was really starting to irritate me. He had tried to "catch" Jasper with Maria thinking that he was trying to solve some big case. But in reality I wasn't sure what he was so wound up about.

"There were pictures of him and Maria and they didn't look innocent if you ask me," he retorted pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Edward, I told you that Jasper was planning to talk to Maria and obviously with the way the pictures were taken they could be taken out of context but this is Jasper. He's my best friend and I know he would _never_ cheat on Alice," I said firmly.

"Why is it so easy for you to believe him?" he asked softly as he dropped his hand and looked down at his lap. I stared at him in shock. Did he just ask me that? Did he not know that Jasper and I are best friends?

"I can't believe you just asked me that. Jasper is my best friend. I've known him all my life and I know who he is. I'm sorry if you don't know him well enough but why can't you trust my judgement?" I asked throwing my arms in the air in frustration.

"I trust you. I just don't trust _him_," he sneered. I was starting to get angry. What is with him and this personal vendetta against Jasper? I didn't understand it.

"You know what? I can't talk to you about this right now. I need to study," I said jumping off my bed and walking toward my desk. I was so mad I knew that if he pushed my buttons a little more I would end up saying things that I would regret later.

I could feel him eyeing me as I sat down in my desk chair and flipped open my textbook pretending to read. I was too mad to read but I didn't feel like talking or looking at my idiot boyfriend.

"I just want to know why it's so easy for you to trust Jasper and why it's so hard for you to believe your boyfriend?" he muttered quickly. I tore my gaze away from my textbook to stare at him. Edward met my gaze with slightly narrowed eyes. He was starting to push my buttons.

"Are we really going to have that conversation? Are you really asking me about where my loyalties lie? You think I'm choosing Jasper over you?" I asked trying very hard not to lose my temper.

He didn't say a word confirming the answer to my question. I was just too upset to talk to him. He was making me mad and I couldn't figure out what his problem was.

"I really have to study," I muttered and turned my attention back to my textbook effectively dismissing him. I hated being mad at him but I was extremely annoyed with him right now.

I think he got the clue that I wanted to be alone as he grabbed his bag from the floor and walked toward the door.

"I'll call you later then," he mumbled. I nodded while keeping my face planted on my textbook. I heard his footsteps walking out into the hallway as the door closed behind him.

I got up from my desk chair and flung myself on my bed staring at the ceiling. Ugh! Stupid boys, stupid boyfriends! Was this our first fight? Yeah, it was and it sucked. Why can't relationships be easy?

Of course throwing in my best friend and my boyfriend there had to be problems. Would we have even had this argument if my best friend weren't a guy? Probably not. Either way, I wanted Edward to trust me and it was frustrating that he wouldn't trust Jasper.

I knew there was something wrong but I couldn't figure out what it was. I could just ask Edward but I was too stubborn. Whatever it was that was bothering him, he'd get over it, right?

_Right _… I thought sarcastically …

**

* * *

**

It was Saturday and the 50's Winter Formal was tonight. Alice had just put the finishing touches to my hair and makeup. I slipped into the beautiful white ball gown that Alice designed for me. It had a poofy white skirt and the bodice had a beaded belt that wrapped around my waist. I looked in the mirror and my hair was done up in a high tight ponytail with my bangs cut shortly and swept to the side. I looked like Audrey Hepburn.

I sighed silently. I didn't tell anyone about the argument that I had with Edward but they could tell something was wrong with me. It felt horrible fighting with Edward. I still hadn't talked to him since yesterday. We texted each other but that was it. I didn't feel like talking to him or I would probably start yelling and I needed to keep my temper in check.

"Are you okay, Bella?" Alice asked.

"Yeah, you've been acting weird all last night and today," Rose added.

"I'm fine," I lied. They could tell I was lying but they didn't pry for which I was thankful.

Alice was wearing a yellow dress with a ton of layered lace and ruffles that made her look like Frenchy from _Grease_. She really did pull off the Frenchy look with her hair done up in a beehive hairdo. Rose was wearing a black and white dress that had black lace details and a black fabric that wrapped around her waist. The dress was very whimsical and wispy. She let her hair down in long curls. Jenny was wearing a pale blue chiffon halter dress that also had a beautiful silver beaded waist with a poofy skirt and had her hair up in a beautiful updo.

We all complimented the dresses and thanked Alice again for making such beautiful creations.

"I have to get back to my room. Jasper is meeting me there so I'll see you girls," Alice said waving to us and leaving the room.

I knew that this winter formal was going to be tulle and poofy dresses galore. I could picture the entire gym being decked out in lace and tulle and laughed silently to myself. It was the first time I had laughed since yesterday, which is odd because I laugh all the time. I knew it had to be because Edward and I weren't on good terms and I hoped that things would get resolved tonight. I couldn't stand being mad at him longer than a day. It sucked big time.

As I patiently waited for the guys to arrive, I started fidgeting with my hands. What if Edward was so mad he wanted to break up with me? What if this one fight makes him want to give up? I mean he may think I'm not worth the time and effort. I was starting to feel sick to my stomach.

"Are you okay, Bella? You look a little pale," Jenny asked looking at me with concern. Rose was still in the bathroom getting ready.

"I'm fine," I replied.

"Bella, I know something is wrong. Let me guess, did you and Edward have a fight?" Jenny asked.

I raised my eyebrow at her curiously wondering how she knew that. She patted my shoulder and said, "It was how I was too when Steve and I first got into our first argument."

My mouth was agape as I stared at her. Jenny and Steve dated since freshman year and were known to be a happy couple. It was hard to picture them arguing since they were so sickeningly sweet to each other.

"Every couple fights Bella. No one is perfect but don't worry, things will work out. I've seen the way Edward looks at you and you're everything to him. And from what Steve told me, Edward's liked you for a very long time so you really shouldn't let things bother you. But let me give you a word of advice, don't ever end the day being upset at each other. It's best to talk things out as soon as possible. Keep the communication lines open," she said.

"I know but I was just so mad. I didn't want to say anything that I would regret," I replied.

"It makes perfect sense to take some time to cool off but after an hour or two you probably weren't mad anymore, right?" she asked curiously. I nodded my head in agreement.

"And now you're just sulking and wishing things were resolved, right?" she guessed.

She was right about everything. Again, I nodded my head slowly in agreement and slumped my shoulders. She reached out and pulled me into a hug. "Bella, don't worry. Just remember that if this happens again, make sure that next time you just talk things out – after you've cooled down, of course. And I'm sure everything will be resolved by tonight."

"I don't want this to happen again. It sucks," I answered as Jenny giggled.

"You have a lot to learn my friend," she said.

Just then there was a knock at the door signalling that the guys were here. Jenny got up and opened the door to reveal Emmett, Edward and Steve standing in the hallway. Emmett was wearing a black tux that had a ruffled neck shirt and black bow tie. If the tux was orange, he could've passed as Jim Carrey in _Dumb and Dumber_.

Steve was wearing a white tux with a plain white dress shirt and black bow tie.

But when I saw Edward, I had to remember to breathe. There he was in all his glory leaning against the wall and waiting for me reminding me that he was still mine even though we were in a little tiff. He was wearing a black tux with a plain white dress shirt and a black bow tie. He gelled his hair back and slicked it back looking like James Dean. Definitely swoon-worthy.

I completely forgot all about what happened just by looking at him. I was sure my mouth was wide open and I had to remember to close it to avoid having flies use my tongue as a landing strip.

I wasn't sure how he would act so I kept my distance and stood in front of him.

"Hey," I said softly.

"Hey," he answered in a similar manner.

Steve grabbed Jenny's hand and led her out of the dorm as Emmett and Rose followed behind them. I felt Edward grab my hand as we followed behind them. He squeezed my hand to reassure me that everything was going to be okay and I felt lighter. We just had to find time to talk.

As we walked toward the gym, I saw the massive amount of tulle and lace that Alice used. It was unimaginable how much there was. The gym was decorated completely different from Homecoming. There wasn't an outdoor courtyard this time and I could hear the song _Johnny B. Goode_ blaring loudly as we got closer to the gym.

As we stepped inside the gym, it was definitely mass chaos. Couples were dancing like crazy. There was stage with a five-man band. One guy was standing in the center of the stage singing and wearing a red velvet tux with black lapels.

Just as _Jailhouse Rock_ started playing, Edward pulled me onto the dance floor. The moves were similar to what we learned for Homecoming but we learned some new flips like the Sidecar, Princess Dip and the Sweetheart Behind the Back Spin. Couples around us were flying and tumbling.

It was fun dancing and I felt free. Edward was smiling and enjoying himself but I knew we had to talk. We just needed to find the right time. The song had changed from a fast song to a slow song and I felt Edward pull me into a tight embrace.

_Earth angel, earth angel_

_Will you be mine?_

_My darling dear,_

_Love you all the time._

_I'm just a fool,_

_A fool in love..._

_With you _

I listened to the lyrics and laughed inside at how much the lyrics portrayed my real feelings for Edward. I looked at him for the first time that night and saw that he wasn't upset or angry. There was something else in his sparkling green eyes. I didn't know why I was so scared that things weren't going to work out. I knew then that things were going to be okay between us. I blushed and rested my head against his chest.

_Earth angel, earth angel_

_The one I adore,_

_Love you forever,_

_And ever more_

_I'm just a fool,_

_A fool in love_

_With you._

_I fell for you,_

_And I knew_

_The vision of your loveliness_

_I hoped and I prayed_

_That someday,_

_I'd be the vision_

_Of your happiness_

As the song ended, we let go and Edward excused himself to go to the restroom. I stood there watching our friends dancing and enjoying themselves. I felt someone tap my shoulder from behind and turned around. I saw Alice standing there with a concerned look on her face.

"Alice, what's going on?" I asked.

"I was waiting for Jasper but he never showed up. He's not picking up his phone and I can't find him anywhere. Have you seen him?" Alice inquired searching the crowds.

_Uh oh._ This wasn't good. That was definitely unlike him. Where could he be?

"Was he supposed to meet you here?" I asked.

"Yeah, he called me to tell me he was going to be a little late and then told me to meet him at the gym but I haven't been able to find him at all. I'm worried, Bells. Do you think he's okay?" she pressed for reassurance.

"What's going on?" Rose asked walking up to us with Emmett in tow. Alice told them what happened. Rose gave me a look as we both silently agreed that this had Maria written all over it.

"Don't worry, Alice. I'm sure he's fine," Rose said putting her hand on Alice's shoulder.

"Why don't we get some punch?" Emmett said leading Alice over to the punch table.

Before Rose could say anything I said, "I'm on it. I'll go find Edward and start searching for Jasper." She nodded in agreement.

"We'll keep Alice occupied. Besides, the punch is spiked so a couple of drinks and she'll be out like a light. Make sure to check Maria's bedroom. You never know what could've happened," Rose said with a hint of disgust in her voice.

I cringed and hoped my stupid best friend didn't do anything idiotic. He can't be that dumb, right. I know he wouldn't cheat on Alice. He's Jasper. He would never do that.

I walked toward the guy's restroom to find Edward when I felt a hand reach out and pull me into a dark corner of the hallway. My entire body tensed up, and as I prepared to scream, a hand pressed firmly against my mouth.

"It's me," Edward whispered. I relaxed knowing that it was my boyfriend. But, what was he doing lurking in dark corners? Was he going crazy?

"Maria's over there and she's dragging Jasper along the sidewalk. Come on," Edward grabbed my hand and led me outside. We crept in the darkness behind the bushes and watched a hunched over Maria dragging a knocked out Jasper by the arms toward the dorms. She was huffing, puffing, and looked about ready to give up. There was no one else outside as everyone was too busy dancing inside the gym.

"What's wrong with Jazz?" I whispered to Edward.

"I overheard Maria talking to one of her followers that she drugged him and was planning to take him back to her place to take some more photos to send to Tanya," he whispered tensely with his fists clenched.

"More photos?" I asked.

"You were right, Bella. Maria staged the whole thing. She had someone take photos of her conversation with Jasper and sent selected ones to Tanya. She wanted to break up Alice and Jasper," he answered.

I was about to say 'I told you so!' but I didn't think it was any good to rub it in. Before I could respond, Edward clapped his hand over my mouth. He nodded his head toward Maria's direction.

We were close enough to her now that we could hear her talking to herself. "God, I didn't think he'd be this heavy. I need help. Where are those girls when I need them, stupid idiots!" she hissed.

Maria grunted like a pig as she dragged Jasper over to the side corner of one of the buildings and then let go of his hands letting them flop to the ground. Edward and I collapsed into each other as we tried to hold in our laughter.

Maria rolled Jasper over so that he was completely hidden from plain sight. He was completely out. What in the hell did she give him? Then she looked around making sure that no one followed her before she left.

As soon as she was gone, we both stood up. "Where do you think she went?" I asked.

"Probably to get help with moving Jasper. Come on, we need to move him quickly before she comes back," he muttered walking over to Jasper's unconscious body.

Edward tried to pick Jasper up and steady him against himself but I knew Edward was struggling. Jasper looked heavy and all that dead weight was almost too much for Edward to handle.

"Here, you take his legs, and I'll take his arms. Alice will kill me if I get this dress dirty," I grimaced. Edward went to grab his legs as I grabbed his arms.

"Ready? On the count of three, we'll lift him up. One, two, three," Edward said as he lifted up Jasper's lower body and I barely lifted up Jasper's upper body.

"God, he's heavy," I groaned.

"Bella, you need to lift him up," Edward complained.

"I am lifting him up. In case you haven't noticed, I don't have freakishly super human strength like my brother. Maybe we should get him to come help. Jasper's too heavy," I huffed as we tried to walk with Jasper pretty much dragging onto the floor. I was surprised that he didn't wake up from all the movement. We had dragged him a good few feet away from where Maria hid him.

"Shit! Maria's coming, hurry hide!" Edward hissed grabbing onto Jasper and pulling him further away. I dropped his arms and hid in the bushes next to Edward with Jasper lying down next to us. There goes keeping the dress clean. Alice is going to kill me!

"He's just too heavy. I need your help." Maria came with two of her minions.

"Are you sure, Maria? I don't think you should be doing this," one of her followers said.

"Shut it, Suzy! I always get what I want, now help me!" Maria yelled.

"Yeah, but did you have to slip him a ruffie? Isn't that illegal or something?" her other follower said. I felt my eyes widen upon hearing what Maria had given Jasper.

"Not if you don't get caught, Julie. Now where did I leave him?" Maria said walking over the spot where she hid Jasper.

"What?! I could've sworn I left him here," Maria mumbled scratching her head. They looked around a little bit more and eventually gave up.

"Maybe he went back to his room?" Suzy offered.

"That's unlikely with the ruffie I gave him, he should be knocked out for two days! It doesn't make any sense," Maria said. I glanced at Edward in alarm. _Two days! _ Was that safe? Edward gave me a grim smile as he put his finger to his lips.

"Can we get back to the dance now?" Julie whined.

"Fine," Maria huffed and stalked away with Julie and Suzy scurrying after her.

I looked at Edward who nodded his head giving me the okay to stand up. I brushed off the leaves that had collected on my dress as Edward picked some twigs out of my hair. He didn't look much better as he had the same amount of stuff caught in his hair along with a few dirt smudges on his cheeks.

"Maybe we should go back and get Rose, Emmett and Alice," I said.

"No, we can't let Alice know," Edward said running his hand through his hair trying to shake out the twigs.

"Why not?" I asked.

"Because she's already upset about what happened with the photos, imagine what she'll do if she hears about this. We have to keep this amongst ourselves," Edward replied.

"I just don't think it's a good idea keeping things from her. Look what happened to Jasper," I countered.

"Yes, I know that but I can't let her know about this, Bells. Maria is a horrible person and it looks like she'll stop at nothing to get what she wants. So we'll have to go about this a different way," he sighed pinching the bridge of his nose.

I thought about it some more. Edward was right. Alice didn't need to know. If she did, she would be upset and we didn't want her to get upset or even worse hurt by all of this. We had to protect her.

"Okay, where are we going to hide him?" I asked.

"Let's take him back to my room and hope that no one sees us. We don't want this to be plastered all over Tanya's column on Monday," he answered pulling Jasper's arm around his shoulder and hoisting him up. Jasper's head bobbed from side to side as a leaf fell away from his hair and drifted to the sidewalk.

We walked quickly toward Edward's dorm as I tried to shield him – not like I could provide that much shielding. Edward and Jasper towered over me and I looked like a little girl trying to throw my arms out in front of them.

Edward quirked his eyebrow watching me. "Did you drink the punch inside?"

"No, why?" I asked confused.

"Because that's not exactly helping us, munchkin." He chuckled.

I stopped moving my arms and crossed them in front of my chest. "I'm trying to help. I can't help it that I'm short and you two are so tall!" I huffed.

As we got right outside of Edward's dorm, we saw some students walking toward the front door.

"Quick! Throw him over the bush!" I yelled to Edward who threw me a confusing look.

"Why?" Edward inquired.

"Just do it!" I said quickly.

Just then, four guys stepped out of the front door. "Hey, Cullen!" they all greeted Edward.

"Hey guys," Edward answered acting smoothly.

They took in Edward's appearance and then looked at me. Two of the guys smirked at Edward while the other two had funny looks on their faces. What were they looking at? Then they looked at Jasper's hunched over body curiously.

"He's just sick. Too much punch, you know," I said.

"Ah, we get it. See you two around!" one of the guys said walking off toward the parking lot with the others following behind him.

As soon as the coast was clear, we pulled Jasper's body back up again. There were more leaves and twigs sticking out of his hair.

_Maybe tossing Jasper wasn't such a good idea. _

Edward grabbed him and pulled his arm over his shoulder again dragging him toward the elevator. Just then, the elevator door dinged open and a guy stepped out of it.

I pushed Edward and Jasper against the wall and grabbed onto Jasper's other arm trying to huddle around them shielding Jasper's dishevelled tux. I started to pretend to laugh. Edward looked at me like I was crazy but I eyed him to go along with it. He started to laugh too.

"That was hilarious! You crack me up!" I chimed pretending to lean in closer to make it look like Jasper was talking to me.

_God, we looked ridiculous! _

You'd have to be really stupid not to notice that something was wrong with Jasper. But lucky for us the guy that stepped out was a stoner dude that reeked of pot. He was so high that he smirked at us not noticing Jasper at all and then walked out of the lobby and through the front doors.

I sighed. "That was close."

Edward gave raised his eyebrow at me. "You really are stressed about this, aren't you?" he asked eyeing me carefully.

"I've never been in a situation like this before. You sure act like you're an expert at this. Has this happened to you before?" I questioned.

He shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, a couple of times when Brian or Mark would over indulge but usually I had help from Scott, Jack or Steve."

We walked into the elevator as my cell phone rang. I grabbed it out of Edward's tux pocket since he was holding it for me.

"_Bella, where are you and Edward?" _Rose hissed into the phone.

"Well, we sort of kind of ran into a slight problem," I replied.

"_Did you find him?"_ Rose asked.

"Yeah, I'll tell you about it later, how's Alice doing?" I asked.

"_Who is that? Bellsy? Let me talk to her! I need to sprinkle some of my pixie dust on her to make her fly!"_ Alice was yelling in the background.

"What did you give her to drink?" I gasped.

"_Just a little bit too much punch. We're taking her back to her room. We have to catch up tomorrow. Good night!" _Rose said giggling and then hung up.

I closed my phone and put it back into Edward's pocket.

"What was that about?" Edward asked.

"Alice is pretty tipsy right now so Rose and Emmett are taking her back to her room," I said I saw the concern in his eyes.

"Don't worry, she just had too much punch," I said and he nodded knowing exactly what that meant. I'm sure he had to deal with it every year at these crazy dances when no one was watching over the punch bowls.

The elevator dinged open and I stuck my head outside to look around. "It's clear," I said before coming out and walking down the hall toward Edward's room.

We managed to get into the room and Edward dropped Jasper down onto his leather couch. I took off Jasper's shoes and Edward grabbed a blanket and pillow for him.

"Well, it looks like he's out for the entire night," Edward said.

"You'd think he's dead. Wait, he's breathing right?" I went over to Jasper's body and placed my finger under his nostrils to see if he was breathing. He was breathing very slow light breaths. I sighed in relief.

Finally having a moment to rest, I looked at Edward and then down at my dress. Our clothes were slightly dishevelled, our faces were flushed, and we were still trying to catch our breath.

I froze realizing why we were receiving weird looks from the guys that saw us. "Edward, do you know what this looks like and why those guys were smirking at you?" I groaned.

He rubbed the back of his neck with his hand and sighed. "I figured that was the case." He chuckled lightly.

"Edward! They are probably thinking the worst especially if you throw in an unconscious Jasper over there!" I shrieked.

He started laughing now. "You really think this is funny? This is so embarrassing! Let's just hope it's not in Tanya's Column on Monday!" I huffed.

He stopped laughing as his face grew serious. "Okay, now that part isn't funny. Alice would kill us if she found out what we were doing."

I sighed. "What a way to end the night, right?" I said avoiding Edward's stare. I wasn't sure what to do and I was extremely nervous. I could go back to my dorm but I knew we had to talk. I wasn't sure if Edward wanted to talk with Jasper in the room even though Jasper was completely out of it.

"Bella, we need to talk," Edward sighed and sat down on the edge of his bed. He patted the space next to him signalling that I should walk over there and sit down. I walked over slowly and lowered myself to sit at the corner of the bed. What was he going to say?

"I'm so sorry for making you upset. I didn't mean to. I should've told you everything," he blurted out quickly looking down at his lap. I paused for a moment letting the words sink in. Tell me everything? What was he talking about?

I took a deep breath and bit my lip. "I'm sorry for getting so mad. I just didn't want to say anything that would make the situation worse. I needed some time to cool off. And what do you mean tell me everything?" I asked curiously. Edward looked up at me and I could see that he was having a hard time trying to decide if he should tell me. I reached out, grabbed his hand, and squeezed it to reassure him that things would be okay.

He sighed and stared at me intently. "I didn't want you think that I thought you were choosing your best friend over me. I would never make you choose. I just couldn't understand why you were on his side so much even after seeing the pictures. I was just frustrated because I didn't know why it was so hard for you to listen to what my thoughts were. I know now that I was wrong for thinking about that of Jasper but what would you think if you saw photos like that? Alice is my sister so it's only natural for me to be protective of her."

"And to be honest, I don't understand your friendship with Jasper. I know you don't have feelings for him and that he only thinks of you as a sister but it was tearing me apart to see that you were so easy to stand up for him. In a way, I was jealous of that friendship. He's known you all your life and I only met you this year." He added and ran a hand through his hair.

I was shocked. Edward Cullen was sitting here feeling insecure about me? What was the world coming to?

I grabbed his other hand in mine stared at him. His green eyes searching mine and I knew he was wondering what I was going to say. "Edward, I'm sorry I didn't listen to you. I should've been more understanding. It was easy for me to stand by Jasper because you're right. I have known Jasper all my life and I knew he would never do anything like what was shown in the pictures. But I want you to know that I know you just as well as I know him. Like when you run your hand through your hair, you're nervous. You pinch the bridge of your nose when you're frustrated. And when the corner of your mouth twitches, I know you're lying. I don't want you to think that there is some sort of competition between you and Jasper because there is none. I've told you that you have nothing to worry about and I mean it," I promised.

"Do you know how hard last night was for me and today?" I asked squeezing his hands in mine.

"Trust me, I felt the same. I couldn't sleep at all last night," he said. I nodded in agreement and my heart swelled knowing that we both were going through the same emotions.

"Let's make a promise that from on if we do get upset with each other again, we have to talk about it. We can't let a day go by without talking," I said.

"Since when did you get so enlightened about relationships?" He teased as he caressed my cheek with the back of his hand.

"I had help from Jenny. She saw that I was upset and knew but she gave me some good advice that I think we should stick to," I stated.

"Ah, I had to sit through one or two fights that she had with Steve in sophomore year and it wasn't pretty but they always resolved things and their bond grew stronger," he said.

"So are we okay now?" I asked curiously looking at him with a questioning glance.

He nodded his head and gave me my favorite smile. Then he pulled my waist so that I was sitting on his lap. "My mouth really twitches when I lie?" he teased his eyes sparkling with amusement.

I poked him in the stomach and said, "Yes but I don't think anyone else notices. It's very subtle and if they do notice, I'd have to gouge their eyes out because they have been staring at you too long and that's my job!"

He laughed and pulled me into a kiss. "Did I even tell you how beautiful you look tonight?"

"Nope," I said.

"I didn't? Well, I was thinking it all night," he said as he nuzzled his face into my neck.

"I could say the same about you. I like this new hairstyle," I said while patting his stiff hair.

He pulled me into a kiss again and I didn't want to break away but we were interrupted by Jasper's snoring reminding us that we weren't alone.

"I should probably go. It's getting late," I said hesitantly trying to pull away from his strong grip. I really didn't want to leave. Edward tightened his hold on my waist not allowing me to stand up.

"Stay, please?" he pleaded. "Plus, I'd rather have you here when he wakes up. He's not going to know where he is."

I nodded my head as Edward got up from the bed and threw me a pair of his basketball shorts and a t-shirt to change into. I made my way quickly to the bathroom to change. This was the first time we would sleep together in the same room and my heart was racing in my chest.

I stepped out and saw Edward setting up a sleeping bag on the floor next to the couch.

"What are you doing?" I asked. He had already changed into black basketball shorts and a white t-shirt.

"I'm sleeping on the floor," he answered. I could tell my face fell into a frown as I was slightly disappointed that he didn't want to sleep in the same bed with me. Did I smell? Was I that disgusting? I felt the urge to sniff myself but I knew he was watching me so I resisted and quickly removed the frown from my face.

"Oh no, you're not. I can sleep on the floor," I argued.

"I will not have you sleep on the floor. It's fine, plus, Jasper would kill me if he woke up and saw us in the same bed together," he fired back.

"You are my boyfriend and it's not like he hasn't done anything with Alice." I grinned mischievously.

His face puckered in disgust before he threw his hands over his ears shouting, "La La La, I can't hear you."

I smirked at his antics and crossed my arms against my chest. "Fine, why don't we watch a movie before we go to sleep? I'm not tired yet," I said jumping onto his bed. Edward chuckled at me as he rifled through his DVD collection.

He popped _300_ into his DVD player and he sat down next to me and put his shoulder over my arm so I could lie against his chest while watching the movie. I was too entranced by Edward to pay attention to the movie because he smelled amazing, like always.

Eventually, I could feel my heavy eyelids slowly closing. As I drifted off, I thought I heard the three words that I was waiting to hear from Edward. It was ringing in my head but it sounded like a whisper. I wasn't sure if I was dreaming but I felt loved and comfortable as I fell deeper into sleep. And all I remember is whispering, "I love you too," before letting sleep fully take over me.

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**A/N: What did you think? I had to have B&E have their first fight! It wasn't too bad, right?!  
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**And A&J are okay now! Yay! But Maria ... she has got some things coming to her. **

**And did you like the exchange of those three little words?!**

**I hope you liked it. I have some more fun stuff coming up and I really hope you'll like it! **

**Please Review and Thanks for Reading! **


	31. Tick Tick Boom

**A/N: Hi again ... it's been forever and I hope that you're still with me for this story and that you haven't abandoned it because I know I haven't. I've actually been updating Edward's POV, King of Ridge Crest Prep, so that I can get it closer to where we are with this story. My summer has been extremely busy with work so I tried my best to get this out ... I hope you don't attack me with pitchforks or burn me at the stake!!  
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**Thanks again to the awesome SavageWoman being the best beta out there. She helped add in a few parts for me and of course helped with my grammar and mistakes! **

**So we were last left off with Edward & Bella finding an unconscious Jasper. Now, I know my story will touch on having Jasper slipped a ruffie from Maria and I know that something like this is extremely serious. It is illegal what Maria did and I am not overlooking it. Though I like to be humorous in my story, I am in no way being humorous about this situation. I hope you can understand that and please do not take this seriously. My story is meant to be light hearted and funny and I hope that is what I achieve with my chapters. If it really bothers you, you do not have to read this as I do not want to offend anyone.  
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**Disclaimer: I do not own any Twilight or Ally McBeal. I do own the storyline and any characters that I make up.**

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****Chapter 31 – Tick Tick Boom**

Song – Tick Tick Boom by the Hives

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"Edward, stop it!" I giggled as I kicked my legs up into the air. He had an evil grin on his face as he looked down at me and continued to tickle me.

I was lying flat on his bed in his room. He was sitting next to me leaning into my direction. His hands still moving at a furiously fast speed as I continued giggling and laughing.

"Stop, please!" I jutted my lip out but he seemed unaffected. He smiled at me causing my breath to hitch.

The odd thing about this was, he kept tickling my legs. _Why would he tickle my legs? _

I rolled around in the bed as his image slowly disappeared. My eyes, heavy with sleep, fluttered open.

_Where was I? What happened? What was going on? _

I blinked a few times adjusting to the sunlight filtering in through the window. I was in Edward's room. Thoughts of the previous night flittered back into my head as I recalled what happened.

_Did Edward say he loved me? Did he? _

I couldn't help but giggle at that thought as well as at the tickling sensation on my legs again. "Edward, stop! I hate being tick–" I froze mid-sentence through my garbles as I moved my hand, felt around the bed, and realized that I was alone.

I sat up quickly and threw the comforter off me. There crawling around on my leg was a giant furry brown spider.

"AHHHHHHH!" I screamed bloody murder and jumped out of the bed. I continued jumping around and screaming while pointing at the giant spider that was now on the floor and looking at me. Its eyes were fixated on me.

"WHAT! WHAT! What is it!" Edward frantically yelled as fear laced his voice. He ran out of his bathroom in nothing but a white towel wrapped around his waist. Water was trailing down his chest and from his wet hair. I would've ogled at his half-naked body in front of me but I was too focused on the damn spider.

"KILL IT! KILL IT!" I screamed and pointed at the vile thing like a girly girl. And yes, I was a big girl when it came to bugs. I am not embarrassed to admit it.

The spider started crawling toward my direction as I screamed louder and jumped onto the bed away from its direct path.

"AHHHH!! KILL IT, EDWARD!!" I shouted at the top of my lungs.

Edward froze, looking at me and then at the scurrying spider that ran off and disappeared.

_What was he waiting for? He let that thing get away! _

Then he started laughing. He laughed so hard he could barely breathe.

"Holy shit, Bella! You scared the bejesus out of me," he tried to muster in-between his laughs.

I wiggled around still getting the creepy crawling feeling on my legs. "Edward, that thing crawled on me and looked at me!" I cringed and shivered at the thought.

"It was not looking at you," Edward countered while still laughing at me. Why did he have to be so technical especially at a time like this?

"What is with all the noise?" I heard Jasper mutter from the couch. It was then that I remembered he was in the room. I was thankful he was alive. I looked toward his direction and saw that he was rubbing his temples with his hands.

"Bella saw a spider," Edward replied with a teasing smirk on his face.

"I did not just see a spider. It crawled on me and it was HUGE!" I retorted.

"It wasn't huge, Bella. It was the size of a quarter," Edward said matter-of-factly.

"Well, Mr. Smarty Pants. It definitely was not. It was the size of my fist!" I protested and made a fist to show Jasper how big it really was. Not that Jasper was even looking at us. He was too busy trying to wake up fully.

"Will you two children stop?" Jasper groaned as he closed his eyes and scrunched up his face. Edward reached up to grab my hand to help me off the bed. With all the hype from the spider, I didn't realize until now what happened last night and wondered if he remembered. I blushed profusely and looked down at the floor.

Edward sensed my hesitation and said, "Relax Bella, the spider is gone."

I eyed him curiously making sure he wasn't joking around before I grabbed his hand tightly and stepped down to the floor.

"See, no spider," he confirmed pulling me into a hug. The water still clinging to his half-naked body saturated the thin fabric of the t-shirt I was wearing. But it was the warmth of his bare chest that permeated my entire body, making me hyper-aware of his state of undress. Even as I felt my face heat with a blush, I couldn't deny that I enjoyed being pressed up against Edward in all his 'almost' naked glory. I shook off my lust induced haze remembering that I desperately wanted to ask him about last night, but knew that now was not the right time with Jasper in the room.

Edward took a deep breath, released me from his tight grip, and walked over to Jasper patting him on his shoulder. "Are you okay, man?" I let out a little sigh of disappointment from the absence of Edward's arms around me. Edward glanced back at me and gave me a questioning look. I wasn't sure, but his face looked a little flushed, probably from the heat of his shower. I ducked my head, not ready to own up to my desire to be in his embrace again.

"What happened last night? And why am I in your room with Bella? And why are you half-naked?" Jasper asked narrowing his eyes at the both of us. He looked around the room and saw the sleeping bag lying on the floor. It didn't look like it was slept in.

"Did you two?!" Jasper nearly shouted pointing between Edward and me. His eyes went wide as he insinuated that something happened.

"NO!" Edward and I yelled at the same time.

"Nothing happened. I just came out of the shower," Edward answered quickly putting a stop to any possible thoughts that Jasper might've been having about the two of us.

"And Edward slept on the floor last night," I added not sure if that was even the truth. From the look on Edward's face, I could see that it wasn't and I wanted to jump for joy. Luckily, Jasper couldn't tell what was going on with our silent conversation.

Jasper rubbed his hands over his face. "So what happened?"

"Maria drugged you," I answered walking over to him.

"Whoa, wait, what?" Jasper jumped up from the couch.

"Ouch!" he winced as he grabbed his head and flopped back down onto the couch. I walked over to Edward's kitchenette and grabbed a glass of water and a bottle of Tylenol.

"You should sit down – don't move. And I need to put on some clothes," Edward mumbled as he walked toward his bathroom to change. I silently whimpered as the amazing view I had disappeared. Teenage hormones were seriously driving me crazy.

As I passed him to hand the glass of water and Tylenol to Jasper, I slipped on a trail of water that Edward had made. The glass of water went flying out of my hand along with the medicine. I could hear the splatter of water hit the floor, as well as the bouncing plastic cup as it ricocheted off the ground.

I could see the floor coming closer to my face. From the corner of my eye, I saw Edward reach out to help me. I closed my eyes tightly and grabbed onto the nearest thing to me. It was amazingly soft and plush in my hands.

**OMPF!**

I slammed into the floor.

"Ow!" I yelped.

I quickly turned over to rub my arms and could feel a warm, soft cloth wrap around me.

"GAH!" I heard Edward yell and Jasper starting to laugh hysterically. Then I heard loud footsteps scurrying away from me. I opened my eyes quickly looking around the room wondering what just happened. I saw the bathroom door slam shut. I looked at Jasper who was clutching his stomach and laughing so hard that tears were practically falling from his eyes. Then I looked down at the floor beneath me and realized that Edward's white towel was wrapped around me.

_Did I just pants Edward? _

I could feel my entire body turning bright red.

A part of me was hoping to catch a glimpse of a naked Edward running out of the room, but the other part was surely dying of pure embarrassment. Luckily, it was just the three of us in the room. If Emmett saw what happened, we would never hear the end of it.

Scowling at Jasper, I got up from the floor and brushed myself off. I quickly cleaned up the mess and grabbed a new cup of water for Jasper. I chucked the bottle of Tylenol at him hoping it would hit him square in the head so that he would stop laughing. That didn't help as he caught it smoothly. I always wondered why the boy never played baseball. He had a good arm. I flopped down into Edward's desk chair and started fidgeting with my hands.

After a few minutes, I could still feel my cheeks burning as I was sure I still looked like a lobster.

"That was priceless!!" Jasper tried to choke out between his undying laughter.

I slapped him across the arm. "Shut it!"

I buried my face in my hands and groaned. I could hear the bathroom door squeak open slightly. I turned to look at Edward whose face was flushed red. He was wearing a white t-shirt and black basketball shorts. His hair was still tousled and wet. Without saying a word, he walked over to me and leaned down to inspect my arms. He grabbed them softly and looked at them making sure there were no marks.

His silence was killing me. _Was he mad at me? What if he didn't believe it was an accident?_ I grew nervous until I could no longer stand it.

"I'm so sorry, Edward!" I blurted out as Jasper continued to laugh.

"No, it's okay," he said as he looked at me with concern. _Why was he concerned about me when he was the one that I just embarrassed to no end? _

"Are you okay? You took a pretty bad fall. I should've cleaned up the water. I'm sorry," he apologized to me.

I stared at him in shock wondering how he could not be mad at me.

"Edward, I'm fine. I warned you about dating me," I sighed and crossed my arms against my chest.

"What are you talking about?" he asked curiously looking me in the eye.

"Embarrassing moments are going to be a hundred times worse when you're around me," I huffed looking down at the floor.

He kneeled down, cupped my cheeks in his hands, and made me look up at him.

"Bella, I told you. It's all worth it," he assured me as he flashed me my favorite crooked smile. I almost forgot that Jasper was in the room when he cleared his throat.

"Ahem, um, I'm still here in the room," he muttered. I rolled my eyes annoyed at Jasper's interruption.

Edward slowly let go of me. He got up and walked over to the couch sitting down next to Jasper.

"Now, can someone tell me what happened to me?" Jasper asked.

"Maria's evil, Jazz. We heard her talking to her minions that she slipped you a ruffie." I warned him time and time again but he never listened.

"Do you remember what happened? Anything at all?" Edward turned to ask Jasper.

"I don't remember much really," Jasper replied while rubbing the back of his neck with his hands.

"I just remember walking on my way to Alice's room to pick her up for the dance." He froze and then slapped his hand to his forehead.

"Oh shit, the dance! How much trouble am I in?" he groaned.

"Well, we're not really sure. You disappeared and Alice was worried looking for you. To distract her, Rose and Emmett made her drink the punch at the dance and the last we heard she actually thought she _was_ Tinkerbell," I said.

"They got her that drunk?" Jasper questioned.

"Okay, wait, what do you mean, 'that drunk'? She's been 'that drunk' before?" Edward grilled Jasper while giving him the evil eye.

I cleared my throat hoping to save Jasper and Alice from Edward's wrath for how drunk Alice could get. I was surprised that he didn't know his own sister that well, but she had been living in Paris the last three years. She must've been good at hiding "Drunk Alice" from him.

I cleared my throat causing both boys to turn and face me. "Before we digress to other topics, Alice doesn't know that we know what happened to you and that you're here."

Jasper looked at the both of us inquisitively wondering why we decided to keep this a secret.

"We didn't want to tell her. She's been going through a lot already," Edward responded.

Jasper's eyes grew wide. "So she has no idea that I'm here?" he posed.

"Nope," I replied.

"Does Em and Rose know that I'm here?" he demanded.

"Yep," I answered.

"OH SHIT! What time is it?" Jasper jumped up from the couch and frantically looked around the room for a clock.

"It's almost noon, why?" Edward probed.

Jasper stood up pacing back and forth in front of the couch. He started mumbling silently to himself under his breath.

_What was going on?_

I looked at Jasper and then at Edward scratching my head. Edward returned my bemused expression with a shrug.

As I focused in on what Jasper was mumbling, I could barely make out that he was counting. "5 ... 4 ... 3 ..."

Why was he count–?

**THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!**

A loud banging sound resounded from the front door making all of us jump in the air.

"She knows," Jasper hissed in a low voice. I rolled my eyes at him and at how scared he looked. I wasn't sure if he was scared of losing Alice or scared of Alice. I observed him again and realized that he was probably more scared of Alice. Not that he should be. It was just Alice. He was practically three times her size, and he looked like he was about to pee in his pants.

"_I know you're in there Jasper Leonard Hale! You better let me in or I will break this door down!" _Alice screamed through the other side of the door. She was so loud that I was sure the entire dorm heard her. I saw Edward flinch at the corner of my eye. Then he turned to Jasper and smirked at him.

"Leonard?" Edward teased and I cracked up laughing. Jasper never told anyone his middle name because he was always embarrassed about it.

"Yes," Jasper hissed. "And now I have to hide," he whispered and ran over to Edward's closet. It wasn't like he could fit in there but he was trying hard to stuff himself into the thin vertical wardrobe.

"Stop it, Jazz. You're being ridiculous. She already knows you're here, and I'm sure she's not mad at you," I scolded.

"_Think again, Bells. The pixie is pissed. You and Leonard better open the door now,"_ Emmett voice commanded through the other side. He burst into a round of giggles at using Jasper's middle name. It always made him laugh.

_Were the doors that thin?_

As if he could read my mind, Edward answered, "yes, they can hear you." I threw him a thanks-a-lot-for-telling-us glare. He walked over to open the door, as Jasper stood frozen in place.

The door was barely open to an inch before Alice flung it open... well, more like kicked it open. Edward jumped back in time as the door narrowly missed his head. Alice ran into the room. She went up to Jasper screaming, "Where have you been? What happened to you?"

A sleepy looking Rose and excited Emmett strolled in behind her and closed the door behind them. They both plopped down onto the couch. Edward moved to sit on his bed and I followed him. We figured we wouldn't be leaving any time soon given the circumstances.

"I swear I don't remember what happened," Jasper said quickly while raising his arms up in a defensive stance. Did he think Alice was going to hit him?

_God, be a man! _

She glared at him not sure what to think.

"You ... You ... UGH!" she sighed in frustration. I knew she probably wanted to call him every name in the book for disappearing on her like he did.

"He doesn't remember, Alice," Edward stepped in trying to help diffuse the situation.

"What do you mean doesn't remember? What happened?" she pressed for answers. Edward and I looked at each other briefly before quickly looking away. I was able to catch a quick glimpse of his flushed cheeks before my eyes made contact with the floor. I could feel my own face heat up obviously remembering the towel incident from earlier. To avoid any unwanted questions, I looked up quickly at Emmett pretending that nothing was wrong. I knew my brother wasn't stupid but he was one that never paid attention to detail so I hoped that this was one of those times that things would go unnoticed.

"Yeah, what did happen?" Emmett asked raising his eyebrows. He was digging for gossip. He looked around the room eyeing the sleeping bag and then his eyes fell on me. My cheeks were practically on fire now as I sneaked a peek at Edward who's blush was fading to sheer terror as he looked at Emmett.

Emmett examined what I was wearing. And before I could stop him, a torrent questions flew out of Emmett's mouth as he charged toward us on the bed. "WHAT HAPPENED? Why are you wearing Edward's clothes? Bella, did you spend the night? Cullen, did you sleep with my baby sister?!"

"NO! This isn't what it looks like, Emmett," Edward blurted out raising his hands up trying to stop Emmett from strangling him.

I quickly threw myself in front of Edward while hoping to calm Emmett down. I did not want to see my brother killing my boyfriend.

"Calm down, Em! Nothing happened. Yes, I spent the night. And no, we did not sleep together." I wasn't sure how truthful that was but I know we didn't do anything physical.

I could see Emmett slowly relaxing while Edward remained as stiff as a board. "Will you just let us explain?" I yelled.

Emmett walked back toward the couch and sat back down next to Rose who threw me a sympathetic smile. I sighed and started retelling the story of last night. Edward helped fill in the parts I wasn't there for, as he was the one that actually found Jasper.

By the end of our story, Alice looked like she was about to murder someone. Emmett was rubbing his hands together with an impish look on his face, obviously ready for round two of torture since Lauren was no longer here. Rose was practically livid and Jasper was shocked.

"So what are we going to do about it?" Emmett asked.

I wasn't sure what we could do. Maria did something illegal and would probably be arrested for it. How were we going to get her confession? It was pretty much Edward's word against hers and I didn't think that was enough.

Everyone remained silent and looked at Alice who was still quiet. It was odd for her to be quiet for so long.

"Come on guys, we can think of something. We successfully completed Operation Annihilate Malibu Barbie for Pete's sake. We can do this," Emmett stated.

As if she didn't hear a word anyone said, Alice screamed and ran toward Edward's front door as we all followed after her, "She messed with my boyfriend! She will pay!"

Emmett quickly stood in front of it blocking her way and trying to pin her arms down from reaching toward the door.

"Alice, you need to calm down," Rose said trying to soothe her as she pulled her out of Emmett's grasp.

"Edward, your sister is freakishly strong. How come you never taught her how to play football?" Emmett asked with his attention focused on Alice's upper body strength. Edward whispered to Emmett as they chatted, obviously too caught up in sports.

"We'll find a way to catch her for doing this, Alice," I said walking toward her and patting her on the back.

"We need to just sit down and think this through. There has to be way to get her," Jasper rationalized.

We all flopped back down and got comfortable in Edward's room for what seemed like hours until a big light bulb shined brightly over Emmett's head.

"I got it!" he exclaimed loudly with a hint of excitement in his voice.

I could tell from the smile on his face that he had something good and we couldn't wait to hear all about it.

**

* * *

**

We were all gathered in Emmett and Jasper's room. It was stuffy and hot and the fact that we had about twenty people cramped into an area the size of a walk in closet, didn't help. Everyone was busy talking about the dance last night and how much fun they had.

I felt bad for having missed out, especially since Jenny and Steve won Winter Formal King and Queen and we weren't there to celebrate with them. But I think I'd choose falling asleep in my boyfriend's arms over that any day.

I was standing in front of Edward with my back pressed up against his chest while he leaned against the wall. He enveloped me in his strong embrace with his arms around my shoulders. I could feel his breath against my hair and the vibration of his body erupting into laughter at some joke that Brian relayed.

Emmett cleared his throat and started speaking, "Attention! Attention, please!"

Everyone quieted down.

"So I know that most of you are curious as to what happened last night and we have to share what went down," Emmett announced excitedly.

"What's going down is that we're gonna kick Maria's ass," Alice yelled as Jasper reached over to rub her shoulders. She was still upset and had been since this morning. We found getting her mind off Maria much more difficult than we thought. We tried everything from mall shopping to online shopping. It didn't work.

"What happened?" Jenny asked.

We retold the entire story again to a room filled with gasping girls and cursing guys. When we were done, everyone looked upset. We had grown so close, that it was like if someone did something to one of us, it was like doing it to the entire group.

"What she did was illegal. We should call Felix," Brian said.

"Yeah!" everyone shouted.

"How are we going to get her to confess though? It's my word against hers and we all know that as soon as we tell Felix and he questions her, she's going to lie," Edward stated.

"That's where I come in," Emmett said as everyone turned to look at him.

"What did you have in mind, Oh Great One?" Mark inquired.

Emmett rubbed his hands together and started telling his plan. With everyone's suggestions, we came up with a good way to get her confession. We had to be patient as we couldn't do anything right away or she would get suspicious. Unfortunately, we would have to use Jasper as bait and that was a hard sell.

"NO WAY! The girl drugged me. There is no way I'm going to be used as bait!" Jasper yelled. Alice didn't move an inch. She still looked far away in her thoughts.

"Oh, come on, Leonard, be a good sport. There is no one else that can get that close to Maria. I doubt even Eddie-boy over here can charm the pants off her. She's only got eyes for you," Emmett begged. Edward shifted slightly under me and I knew it was because of Emmett's comment.

"Leonard?" Janet said scrunching her face in confusion.

"Who's Leonard?" Annie asked.

Emmett practically started rolling on the floor with laughter as he pointed at Jasper. Everyone started chuckling.

"You're one to talk, EUGENE," Jasper retorted and crossed his arms against his chest.

_Oh, he just had to go there. _

Even I didn't have the guts to do it. And I've been pissed at Emmett plenty of times. I just knew Jasper was really asking for it this time. Emmett froze as everyone now looked between Jasper and Emmett.

"Wait a minute. Your middle name is Eugene?" Scott said trying hard to suppress his laughter.

"JASPER!" Emmett boomed while launching toward Jasper. Jasper quickly jumped off the bed and took off running out of the room and down the hall with Emmett following closely behind him. Everyone was laughing now with tears rolling down their cheeks.

Edward leaned down and whispered in my ear, "Is that really Emmett's middle name?"

I turned around to face him with a big smile plastered on my face. "Yep."

He laughed harder.

"That is hilarious," Steve mumbled through his chuckles.

"Well, it's about time someone shut the big guy up," Rose said earning more laughs around the room.

After a few minutes, Jasper came back into the room with a smug smile on his face. Emmett followed behind him with his mouth in a tight line and his face slightly flushed red.

As they settled back down to where they were, Alice finally broke her strange silence. I was beginning to worry about her.

"I think you have to do it, Jazzy. Emmett's right. You're the only one that can get close enough to her," her voice was calm as it cut through the room.

"Alice, if you don't feel comfortable having Jasper do it then I'm sure we can think of something else," Kate offered while giving Alice a sympathetic glance.

"No, it's the only way and we have to catch her. She could've killed you," Alice's voice quivered causing the entire room to go silent. It was true. The seriousness of Maria's actions dawned on us and we knew we had to get her confession.

"Alright so Confessions of a Crazy Psycho Bitch is now under way," Emmett said. I rolled my eyes at his name for the "mission." It was going to be a long few weeks.

**

* * *

**

It was now Wednesday. Jasper finally agreed to be the bait for the "mission." All it took were Alice's puppy eyes and he succumbed to anything she asked.

Tanya's column came out on Monday where she pointed out pictures of Edward and I covered with leaves and sticks in our hair. Luckily, she didn't get pictures of Jasper. She did allude that something fishy must be going on for us to have missed the dance, but luckily, she didn't suggest anything else. I would've died from mortification if she did.

It turned out that Edward did fall asleep next to me that night on his bed. I recalled sitting on the bed with him watching _300_ and the warmth of his cuddle but I didn't remember drifting off to sleep. Here it was, the first time we slept together in the same bed, and I had to miss it. I slapped myself on the forehead for being so lame. Who would ever miss the chance of falling asleep next to a Greek God and not know it? Oh yeah, that would be me ... only me.

I did hope that maybe the next time it happened, I would actually be conscious enough to know it. I pondered how soon that would be as I tried to make a plan in my head.

"Bella, are you there?" Rose shook her hand in front of my face snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Oh, um, yeah. I was just thinking about something," I replied hoping she wouldn't ask me further. That would be embarrassing having to discuss with her various different ways getting Edward to sleep with me in the same bed. And I bet she would take it in a different way and give me _other_ suggestions that I did not need to hear about.

She turned toward the door and walked out of our dorm room as I followed behind her. As we started walking to class, I could see girls whispering and pointing at me. It didn't seem as if it was malicious since they seemed to squeal and jump up and down.

_What was going on? _

I looked at Rose who just shrugged her shoulders and continued walking.

I kept up with her pace and as we passed a large brick wall, I noticed a huge fluorescent yellow poster with bright green lettering that said, "Win a Date with Edward Cullen!"

I froze and stopped walking. My mouth dropped open to the floor.

_WHAT? _

_

* * *

_**A/N:****What did you think? I know some of you were expecting Bella to wake up in Edward's arms but come on, I can't do that with my story. It's not traditional! **

**And I hope you liked Bella pantsing Edward! It made me laugh! **

**And most of all, did you like Leonard and Eugene? I had to add that. And I do know a Leonard, who is my friend's cousin's name and my mom wanted to name her son Eugene, if she had a son. Luckily, she didn't or he would've been made fun of like crazy and I probably would've been the sole instigator. **

**So what's with "Win a Date with Edward Cullen?" ... you'll have to find out in the next chapter! And let Confessions of a Crazy Psycho Bitch begin!  
**

**Please Review and Thanks for Reading! **


	32. I'm Too Sexy

**A/N: Hello everyone! I apologize for the late update. I know ... I know ... it's been far too long. Though I have been trying to finish my other story, Must Love Dogs, first but then I realized that I've been neglecting this story and that I needed to update it. Well, this time, you have a very long chapter. It's the longest yet so I hope you enjoy it. **

**We last left off with the "Win a Date with Edward Cullen" Posters around school ... what is going on?! You'll find out below! **

**Thank you to SavageWoman for helping me with this and going back and forth with me on this chapter for awhile now!  
**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Twilight or She's All That or Ally McBeal. I do own the storyline and any characters that I make up.**

* * *

**Chapter 32 – I'm Too Sexy**

Song – I'm Too Sexy by Right Said Fred

* * *

"Alright, Edward, enough is enough. This isn't cool anymore. I like this girl and you have to stop this whole bet thing," Mike yelled at Edward who was standing across the room. Edward started to walk toward me but stopped frozen in his tracks.

_Wait... WHAT! BET? _

"Bet?" I did a double take looking up at Mike who was standing next to me.

"Yeah, it was so stupid, Bella. Edward said he can make any girl popular, and you were the one picked so he thinks that if he became your boyfriend then it'll help you out," Mike paused and then gave Edward a look of disgust before continuing on, "People have feelings, man."

My jaw dropped open to the floor and I could barely feel my heart beating. What was going on? What was happening? The room started to spin but my eyes glazed over with anger.

"Is that true? Am I a bet?" I shouted at Edward. He was silent and didn't respond back.

"Am I a bet? Am I a freaking bet?" I yelled clenching my hands into fists.

"Yes," he answered in a low murmur, his eyes showing no signs of deceit.

Then out of nowhere, Lauren Mallory came up from behind Edward and wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

"You didn't think you got popular for real did you?" she taunted.

Then she pouted her lips and said, "Oh, you did... that's so sweet."

Lauren Mallory? Huh? What?

**BAM!**

I felt the cold hard floor come in contact with the side of my body.

"Ouch!" I shouted as my eyes flung wide open. _Crap! _I was dreaming in the middle of my Biology class. I quickly stood up and brushed myself off trying to avoid the stares from my fellow classmates. I could hear giggling break out around the room.

"Miss Swan, are you okay?" Mr. Banner turned around from the chalkboard to look at me.

"I'm fine, Mr. Banner," I said as calmly as I could. My face was bright red as I picked up the stool and sat back down.

"I'd like a word with you after class," he said while narrowing his eyes at me. He turned back to face the chalkboard and continued with his lesson. I slumped over in my seat and rubbed my hands over my face.

Great! Of all the days to get detention, it just had to be today. It was already a horrible day. "Win a Date with Edward Cullen" posters littered the entire school, and I still had no clue what they were for and who put them up. Because there was an away game tonight, my boyfriend was tied up with basketball practice for the entire day. I got snickers and stares from almost everyone in school. And, groups of girls seemed to walk past me every chance they could just to whisper and point. And, to top it all off, I just landed myself in detention.

_I just wanted to crawl into a hole and hide._

The bell rang after what seemed like a century and I grabbed my bag before shuffling up to Mr. Banner's desk in the corner of the room.

I waited patiently while he busily looked through his papers. Finally, after the last student left the room, he looked up at me.

"Miss Swan, I do not take it lightly that you fell asleep in my class," he said sternly.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Banner. I wasn't sleeping. I have balance issues. I fell off my seat," I lied. Well, it's not as if I truly lied. I was clumsy at times. Besides, I wasn't sleeping, I was dreaming. There _is_ a difference.

He rolled his eyes obviously not buying my lie. "You know, Miss Swan, you're a really bad liar."

_Shit! Could I dig a deeper hole?_

He sighed and took off his glasses. "Is something going on with you and Mr. Cullen?"

His question took me by surprise and I almost had to shake my head to make sure I heard it correctly. I raised my eyebrows at him. "Excuse me, sir?"

"Don't be so surprised that the teachers here at this school actually know what's going on. Is there something bothering you today?" he urged.

I was not about to get relationship advice about my boyfriend from my Biology teacher.

"No, everything is fine," I lied again while keeping a straight face.

He looked at me curiously but didn't push the topic any further. "Well, you are one of my top students in this class so I am willing to overlook your little incident today. But the next time I catch you sleeping in my class, you will get detention," he warned.

"Yes, sir. Thank you, Mr. Banner!" I exclaimed and threw him a weak smile. I hadn't smiled all day and wasn't in the mood to start now.

I started walking toward the door when he called after me. I turned around to face him.

"Make sure you take care of whatever is bothering you. I don't want to see two of my best students suffering in their grades," he huffed.

"Yes, sir." I said walking out of the room to my last class of the day.

That was odd. Was it that obvious that I was having problems? And he didn't want to see _two_ of his best students suffering in their grades. Who is the other student? And how did Mr. Banner know my problem had to do with Edward?

I started to wander down the hall lost in my thoughts. All day long, people kept asking me what the posters were about and I didn't have an answer for them.

What _were_ they about? Did Edward know about them? If so, why didn't he tell me? Was this his way of telling me he wanted to date other people? Albeit was a shitty way to tell someone that they didn't want to date you anymore. I didn't think he would be capable of doing that.

A million questions ran through my mind. I tried texting and calling Edward but because they were in practice, they had to shut off their cell phones.

_I wanted to scream!_

As I got closer to the newspaper office, I decided to track Edward down. He was still on school property. The team usually left for away games around three o'clock and it was already thirty minutes to three.

I booked it over to the mini _Staples Center_ on campus. As soon as I got inside, I realized it was completely empty, my footsteps echoing off the walls.

_Where else could they be? _

I stood there for a moment wondering where else I could look. There was the guys' locker room but I couldn't waltz right in there – not sure what I would see.

I heard a door in the gym fling open breaking me from my thoughts. Rose stood in the middle of the doorway. Her wild eyes made her look like she was about to kill someone.

"Where the hell are they?" she sneered marching over to me.

"Rose, what's wrong?" I asked.

"Emmett is going to die tonight," she growled.

_What did my stupid oaf of a brother do?_

I've never seen Rose this mad before.

"Rose, calm down. What's going on? What did Em do?" I questioned.

"Did you not see the signs?" she retorted.

"Uh, yeah. I'm not blind. The signs had _my_ boyfriend's name on them, not yours," I countered crossing my arms against my chest. Why was _she_ so upset? She had no right to be.

"No, I mean the new signs. These ones went up right after lunch. Can you guess who else you can win a date with?" she huffed.

_HUH? WHAT? _

"No way!" I said in shock. What was going on? This sounded more like _The Twilight Zone_ than reality to me. I secretly pinched myself hoping to wake myself up from this walking nightmare. It didn't do anything as Rose was still standing there seething.

"Oh yes, 'Win a Date with Emmett Swan'. He never told me anything about this. And now that Edward's and Emmett's signs are up together, I'm beginning to feel that something is going on that they are not telling us," she concluded.

I pondered this for a minute. The posters to win a date with Edward and Emmett couldn't be a coincidence. But who was behind it? I knew it wasn't Maria. She was too fixated on Jasper and Jasper alone. Who else would do this? Lauren Mallory? I guess it _could_ be her, but it seemed highly unlikely.

Or, was this some sick joke that Edward and Emmett wanted to play? Maybe they really didn't have the balls to say it to our face and decided to post it up all over school. But my brother would never do that to Rose or break up with her. What was going on? If Emmett was involved it couldn't be that bad could it? Emmett would never let Edward do this if it was hurting me. There had to be a logical explanation for all of this. My impatience was getting to me and I had to find answers soon.

"Let's just go find them," I said in annoyance.

"The weight lifting room," she scowled and marched off toward a steel red door that was around the outside of the gym. She walked right up to it and started kicking it and banging on it loudly.

_Note to self: NEVER piss off, Rose. _

"EMMETT EUGENE SWAN, you get out here this instant!" Rose roared.

The door swung open to reveal a dark damp room. I wasn't sure if I should step inside. It looked like a vampire's lair. I squinted my eyes to peer into the darkness and slowly walked into the room. As soon as I crossed the threshold, I got a huge whiff of a bad body odor and almost fainted.

"Oh, hell no, I'm not stepping in there," I gasped. I immediately turned away from the stench bumping into Rose. I pushed her out of my way so I could get a breath of fresh air.

Rose stood with her hands on her hips and had a murderous glare on her face.

"EMMETT!" she yelled again.

"Yo, Captain! Hey, Swan! Your girls are outside," someone yelled.

I heard the clanging and dropping of weights before Emmett emerged from the shadows followed by Edward.

"Rosie, what's going on?" Emmett asked. His concern was evident from the worried look on his face. She walked up to him and grabbed onto his ear dragging him outside.

"Owie, owie, owie!" Emmett cried. She pulled him aside and started chastising him. I didn't pay attention to them – too fixated on Edward who stepped out of the room.

"What's going on?" he asked watching Rose and Emmett, unaware of his own problems with me.

"That's something I'd like to know," I snapped.

"What?" he asked in confusion. Maybe he didn't know. I immediately felt bad and calmed myself down a little.

"You really don't know?" I questioned.

"Bella, I have no idea what's going on. I've been in training all day and we have a huge game tonight. What happened?" he asked stepping forward and sounding concerned.

"Edward, I came out to class this morning and saw posters littered all over the school about winning a date with you. Do you know anything about this?" I asked. I looked at his expression and his eyes widened in shock. But, there was something else there too - guilt.

_He knew! Why didn't he tell me? What was he trying to hide? _

_Oh God, was my dream coming true? Was this all a bet? Was our relationship a bet? _

My heart started to race at that thought.

"So you did know about it. What is going on? And why didn't you tell me?" I asked in an almost whisper.

_He did want to go on a date with someone else. He didn't want to be with me anymore. He was going to break up with me._ My thoughts were out of control as I wondered why he didn't say anything.

"Bella, please. I didn't mean for you to find out this way. I was going to tell you. I just got caught up with everything at Winter Formal and everything that happened with Alice and Jasper that it slipped my mind," he pleaded.

Tears were starting to fill my eyes. This is it. It's the end. I knew this was too good to be true.

"Slipped your mind?" I repeated his statement slowly while enunciating each word. I pinched the bridge of my nose and closed my eyes. I quickly dropped my hand, realizing I'd picked up his habit.

The biggest question that always plagued by mind was why would Edward Cullen, King of Ridge Crest Prep, date someone like me? It was bound to be a joke or a bet. I think that was why I dreamed it earlier in class today. I always thought all along that he would've never picked me just for me. There had to be some ulterior motive.

"Just do it," my voice cracked as I cried out.

"Do what?" he asked sounding completely confused.

"Break up with me," I replied. It would better if he did it quickly – a clean break.

"Wait, what? Why would you think that?" he nearly shouted in surprise.

I couldn't answer him because of the lump caught in my throat.

He sighed.

"Bella, the 'Win a Date' posters are for a charity event that we are doing for the sports division at school. We're raising money for the Children's Hospital of Orange County. The idea was proposed in one of our ASB meetings. All of the sports captains have to be involved in the raffle. I didn't want to do it. In fact, I voted against it but lost. The majority of the ASB thought it would be a good way to raise money and it was something we'd never tried before. The posters weren't supposed to go up until next week. I was going to tell you. I'm so sorry that you had to find out this way," he blurted out quickly.

A raffle event for charity.

And for the Children's Hospital of Orange County.

I took deep breaths slowly trying to calm myself down. He was doing this for charity. He didn't want to break up with me and he wasn't trying to date someone else. My crazy thoughts and dreams were really starting to get to me.

I shut my eyes harder feeling relieved that he wasn't going to break up with me but also completely embarrassed for having confronted him about it. I felt so stupid for saying it out loud.

"Bella, are you okay?" he enquired with uncertainty.

I opened my eyes to look at him for the first time and saw the genuine concern in his eyes. He was worried about me.

"Uh, yeah. I'm fine," I replied sheepishly. Maybe I could pretend like I never said anything. Brush it under the rug like it never happened. I gave him a big smile trying to hide my embarrassment.

"Why did you say that earlier?" he asked raising his eyebrows.

"Say what?" I countered, putting on my most innocent face, acting like I had no idea what he was referring to.

Edward raised a slightly disbelieving eyebrow at me. "Say that I was going to break up with you?"

_Damn, I thought I could get away with it. _

"Well...," I trailed off nervously. I dropped my eyes, suddenly fascinated by a stray string on the hem of my shirt.

"Yes," Edward pressed, taking another step closer.

I started to talk so quickly that I could barely understand what I was saying. "Well, I couldn't find you all day. I had no idea what was going on. I was being harassed by everyone. People were whispering and pointing at me like I was some sort of freak experiment. I almost got detention in Biology because I had a bad dream with Mike Newton and Lauren Mallory and they were saying that you were only dating me because it was a bet and it was all because...," I paused from my rambling and looked up at him. I swore I saw Edward trying to hold his laughter in. "I thought you wanted to break up with me."

"Have you been watching _She's All That_?" he teased.

"Edward!"

"Okay, okay. I'm being serious now. Why would you think that?" he asked incredulously. I shrugged my shoulders in defeat.

"I don't know," I murmured looking down at my feet.

He placed his hand under my chin and lifted my head, forcing me to look up at him. "Bella, you have to trust me. I'm not going to break up with you," he said sincerely.

It felt like the tables were turned. It was my turn to question our relationship and I could feel what Edward was feeling this past weekend and all his insecurities. Was this always what first loves had to go through? It sucked.

"I'm sorry for jumping to conclusions so quickly. I shouldn't have thought that you were going to break up with me. I've been a nervous wreck all day. I'm so glad I was able to see you before you left, or I think I would've pulled all my hair out. Now, I just have to find a way to rig that raffle!" I rambled causing Edward to throw his head back in laughter.

"I don't share with anyone!" I pouted.

"You know... you're cute, when you're jealous," Edward said while flashing me my favorite smile. He pulled me into a hug and bent down grazing his lips against my cheek.

I turned to see Emmett and Rose in a full-fledged make out session.

"Looks like someone made up," I said while pointing toward them.

Edward turned and looked before giving me a sly smile. "Hm… I think they've got the right idea," he chuckled as he captured my lips in a slow passion-filled kiss. I wrapped my arms around his neck, getting lost in Edward. He tightened his hold on me and my heart raced.

"Cullen, Swan! Get in here!" a gruff voice called from inside the weight room.

With a frustrated groan, we broke out of our kiss. Edward leaned his forehead against mine, and I was pleased to see that he looked as flushed and breathless as I felt. He gave me a smug smile before looking over to my brother.

"Hey, Em! Coach is calling us. Let's go!" Edward said slowly releasing me from his tight grip. He was sweaty but I didn't care.

I felt infinitely better and relieved that this wasn't another one of Lauren's cruel jokes, or that he wasn't trying to break up with me in an odd and public way or that it was a bet all along. Not that he would ever do that, but I couldn't help but let my mind wander.

"See you tonight after the game!" Edward called out walking into the weight room and winking at me before he disappeared into the dark with Emmett following behind him.

Rose walked up to me linking her arm with mine. "Do you feel better?" I asked curiously glad to see that Rose was back to normal and no longer threatening to claw out someone's eyes.

"Yes, now all we have to do is rig that raffle," she answered with a mischievous look in her eye.

Damn right!

**

* * *

**It was late Saturday night, three weeks after the posters had gone up all over school. Everyone was excited about the upcoming charity event. The raffle tickets started selling two weeks ago and apparently, Edward's raffle tickets sold out at one point and they ended up having to print a new set of tickets to allow for more donations.

_Good God! I had to do something! _

"Are we seriously doing this?" I whispered yelled to Alice who was hiding behind a tree. We were both dressed in black.

"Yes! Come on, Bella! We have to make sure that you, Rose and Steve win that raffle!" Alice squealed. It turned out that since Jenny was now the captain of the cheerleading squad, she was a raffle date as well. Steve was not particularly happy about that. So, as soon as Rose came up with her scheme of rigging the contest, Steve was the first one on board.

Jasper assured us that the guys planned to watch the NBA game on TV tonight, and Jenny was busy with a cheerleader slumber party. Jasper also promised to watch them personally to make sure that no one left the room. He even agreed to field questions about our whereabouts, giving us alibis. Plausible deniability – we wanted to make sure that none of the raffle participants knew what we were doing in case someone caught us tonight.

Alice glanced at her watch and swung a large black bag over her shoulder. "Hurry, Bella! We have to be in place," she said as she yanked on my arm dragging me behind a set of bushes opposite the administration building. We crouched down to hide making sure that no one saw us.

"_Come in, Tinkerbell!" _Rose's voice squawked over the walkie-talkie.

"_Yes, Princess Fiona. We are in place. Signal with your flashlight when you're in,"_ Alice whispered back into the walkie. I glanced over to the main office, feeling lucky it was on the first floor. The windows were dark and there was no movement.

A few seconds passed before we saw a beam of light flash twice at us. That was the signal. Alice gracefully moved toward the window of the main office with me following quietly behind her. She gave a few hand motions to Rose as a signal to open the window.

Why we had to go through the window, I'll never know. But apparently, Alice got a little too excited when she heard of this plan and wanted to make it as complicated as possible. She said it would be more exciting this way. I just shook my head at her over-exuberance.

Where she climbed in through the window like a dancer, I stumbled into the room and fell onto the floor.

"Shhh!" Steve hissed.

"I know! I'm trying to be stealthy, but Tinkertoes over there came up with this stupid idea of coming in through the window!" I whispered angrily.

"Hey! Let's just get the ballots switched." Rose ordered getting down to business.

"Do you have the ballots?" Steve asked.

"Yes." Alice handed over the black bag. It was full of extra ballots with our names on them.

"Start stuffing them into the jars!" Rose demanded.

They had jars full of ballots lined up against the wall for all the captains. Off to the side was a giant metal raffle cage. It was for all the raffles, but because Edward had so many ballots, they decided to get him his own raffle cage. The freaking giant rolling tube was stuffed so full, the ballots didn't shuffle around when you moved it. At least they made a lot of money for the hospital.

Rose and Steve started stuffing their jars with their names as Alice came to help me with Edward's rolling cage. Alice quickly pulled out ballots and glanced at each of the names.

She stopped at one and her eyes bugged out.

"What? What's wrong?" I asked.

"Wow, some people can be really desperate. And by that I mean, guys," she smirked.

This time it was my turn for my eyes to bug out of my head.

"WHAT?" I nearly shouted as Rose and Steve shushed me to quiet down.

Alice held out one of the ballots to show me the name.

_George Morris. _

He was a nice guy who was extremely friendly and cheerful. There was a rumor earlier in the year that he'd bought one of Edward's football jerseys from the bookstore.

Oh wow... Well, there weren't any restrictions as to who could enter the raffle. Edward would definitely be embarrassed if he found out about this, not to mention Emmett, who would have a field day with it. Alice giggled and clutched her stomach.

"Alice, you can't tell anyone about that, not even Jasper! Edward would never live that one down," I said trying to hide my smile at the thought of George winning the date.

"Yeah, but what if George wins? That would be hilarious!" Alice continued to giggle. I rolled my eyes at, trying to remain firm with her and motioned to her to get on with the plan.

She calmed down and started to grab more ballots out of the cage. When she made a move to the trash can to throw them away, I had a sudden case of guilty consciousness.

"Wait!" I exclaimed in a low whisper.

"What?" Alice froze in place.

"You can't just remove people's ballots! They paid for their tickets. They deserve a chance even though we want to rig this," I hissed, not quite believing my own ears.

"Then what do you suggest we do, Sherlock?" Alice retorted pointing at the beast of the cage.

"Let's just try to stuff these in as much as we can but we can't take anyone's out, okay?" I suggested.

"Okay, Miss. Goody Two Shoes. But I would love to see if George wins! That would be awesome!" Alice exclaimed and put the ballots back into the cage. I stifled a giggle at the image of Edward on a man-date with George.

I started handing her our ballots as she began to stuff it. She started to grunt as she forced her hands into the cage. She managed to push a good three handfuls of ballots into the barrel, cramming them in as far as she could.

"Alice, do you want me to do it?" I asked offering to help, looking at the beads of sweat on her forehead.

"No, I can do it. I'm stronger than you anyways," she said wiping her forehead with her sleeve. She was right. She was stronger than me, but she looked like she was trying to push a thousand pounds.

She grabbed another fistful of ballots and huffed again trying to stuff in as much as she could.

Then we heard loud footsteps in the hallway.

"SHIT!" Rose yelled.

"HIDE!" Steve yelled.

I grabbed Alice and shoved her to the side of the raffle cage where there was a desk. I pushed her underneath it to hide.

I didn't get a chance to see where Rose and Steve hid before I heard the office door open. Half of the room lights flickered on and I scrunched further under the desk to hide from the light cascading on the floor. Alice was pressed completely against the inside of the desk holding in her breath.

I could hear the humming of a female voice. It was probably Ms. Dalton. But what was she doing here this late? Did she know we were in here?

I looked at Alice curiously in silent conversation with her. She shrugged her shoulders to me wondering the same thing.

I could hear her rummaging through the drawers looking for something.

"Aha! Here it is." She pulled something out of a drawer and closed it.

Then she paused. I wasn't sure what she was doing. I held in my breath scared that she might've seen us. I could hear her footsteps walking in our direction.

My eyes bulged out of my head as I pressed my lips together and stared at Alice. She closed her eyes praying that we wouldn't be caught.

Ms. Dalton's footsteps came to a stop in front of Edward's raffle cage. I'd never bit down so hard on my lip in all my life until that moment.

Then she sighed and said dreamily, "I wish I was seventeen again. I would've bought a hundred tickets."

I nearly wanted to burst out in laughter and had to bite down on my tongue to keep myself from laughing out loud. Alice opened her eyes wide and I could tell she had to chew on the inside of her cheek to stop herself from giggling.

Then Ms. Dalton turned and walked away. The lights went out just before the office door closed. I kept still for a moment waiting to make sure that the footsteps were gone before I came out from under the desk.

As I climbed out from under the desk, I turned around to help Alice up.

"What was that about?" Alice asked.

"I wish I was seventeen again. I would've bought a hundred tickets," Rose mimicked in Ms. Dalton's voice while coming out of her hiding space.

We all burst into laughter. I was laughing so hard tears began running down my cheeks. Eventually Steve calmed us down.

"That was close. I think we should go," he suggested.

"But I'm not done stuffing Edward's ginormous cage!" Alice whined.

Rose looked at the cage and glared at us. "There is no way you can fit more in there. Bella, I'm sorry but we should go. That was a close call."

I shrugged my shoulders. "That's fine with me. I didn't even think we could get the fistful of ballots that Alice was able to claw in there."

The cage looked like it was about to bust open.

"The raffle isn't until next week and that thing looks like it's about to break," Rose quipped.

"Damn, pretty boy." I heard Steve mumble under his breath.

We moved to leave through the front door forcing Alice to forego using the window. After that close call, there was no need to go super-spy and risk getting caught.

We hid behind the bushes and ran our way back to the dorms. As we got closer, we stopped in a small huddle.

"Let's hope this works," Steve whispered high-fiving all of us.

"I think we did well. We might even have a chance," Rose laughed with a large smile splayed across her face.

Maybe Rose and Steve did have a chance but I was doomed.

**

* * *

**

"You ... don't ... want me?" I had a hard time forcing the words out as I stared at Edward.

"No," he paused and then continued, "I'm tired of pretending to be something I'm not, Bella. I've let this go on much too long and I'm sorry for that."

I couldn't speak. My words caught in my throat. I wanted to ask a million questions. Why he was leaving me? But I could only sputter out one thing. "If... that's what you want."

He turned away from me and ran into someone else's arms.

I could barely see through my thick tears until my eyes focused in on... GEORGE?

WHAT?

I did a double take and saw that both of them were hugging and smiling at each other like it was the best day of their lives. Then I started laughing and couldn't stop, eventually jolting myself awake. I felt tears rolling down my face.

"What on earth were you dreaming about this time?" Rose asked as she watched me from her bed.

"Oh nothing. It was just something that brightened my day," I sighed, relieved it wasn't a bad dream this time. Nightmares continually plagued my sleep since I found out about the raffle. They were all essentially the same. Someone else would win the raffle, Edward would go on the date, and then leave me for that person. But this latest dream really did lighten my mood. I would never have to worry about George being a threat.

I got up quickly to get ready for the day. The 'Win a Date' winners would be announced later today and everyone was on edge. Rose seemed to think that she had everything covered and had nothing to worry about. I was still a nervous wreck and hoped that our efforts would potentially pay off.

We made out way to the mini _Staples Center_ to see who the 'lucky' winners were. The captains had to go early to get ready for their big debut.

The gym was nearly full as more people tried to make their way and find seats. Most of the gang was already in their seats, trying to flag us down through the massive crowd.

As we made our way over to them, Alice pointed to the two seats she'd save for us. We took our seats. The noise level was at an all-time high, and we had to scream at each other in order talk over the roar of the crowd.

When the lights turned off and the music began to play, it reminded me of the team introductions of a basketball game. Spotlights flashed around the room as Amy Manning's voice boomed over the loud speakers. She was the Vice President of ASB and apparently, the one that came up with this _stupid_ idea.

_I briefly wondered if she would have agreed to this if it were her boyfriend in the line up._

The spotlight landed on Amy as she continued to speak explaining about the event and how much money they raised for the hospital. Then the raffle began.

The music pumped through the air as the captain of the girls soccer team stepped out on the stage. The winning raffle ticket was announced followed by a 'whoop' from the _lucky_ guy. It continued like this, back and forth between the girls and boys teams, including the team captains from all the sports played at school. Soccer, wrestling, tennis, baseball, lacrosse, water polo, swimming, golf… you name it. Most of us sat there enjoying the fun and watching the spectacle before us.

When it was time for the people we knew who were up, we all perked up in our seats.

"Now, it's time for the captain of the cheerleading team, Jenny Yamamoto," Amy announced as Jenny stepped onto the stage next to her. Wolf whistles and cheers erupted as Jenny stepped out into the spotlight. She gave a quick wave to the crowd and winked in our direction.

Amy put her jar of ballots into an empty raffle cage and started rolling the cage around. Steve looked so nervous, I thought he was going to puke.

"Are you okay, Steve?" Alice asked him.

He nodded slowly but didn't respond.

"It's okay, Steve. Everything will be fine," Jasper said and patted him on the back.

There was a drum roll as Amy reached in and pulled out a ballot.

"And the winner of a date with Jenny is... Mike Newton!" Amy yelled into the microphone.

"WHAT?" The girls and I jumped up and shrieked at the same time.

I could see Jenny's face go from a smile to a frown in an instant. That was not good. Mike looked like he won the lottery as he ran toward the stage to claim his prize.

We all turned to Steve who looked like he was seething.

"Oh man. Well, it _should_ be okay. I mean, we know that Newton won't try anything. He's a wimp," Mark noted trying to be supportive and failing miserably.

"Yeah, don't worry. He won't do anything, Steve. I'm sure everything will be fine," Brian reassured him.

"If he does do anything, I'll take care of him," Scott chimed in while smacking his fist into his other hand.

I'm sure Steve was more scared for Jenny but Mike was never a horrible person. He was just annoying. So hopefully, it wouldn't be too bad for Jenny, though I felt sorry for her.

Jenny and Mike were quickly ushered off stage as the next song came on. Steve quickly jumped up leaving his seat to find her.

The song that started to blare through the speakers was "I'm Too Sexy" by Right Said Fred. We all knew who that song was for as Emmett sauntered onto the stage.

Rose groaned as she leaned her face into my shoulder. "Why did he have to pick this song?" she whined.

I looked at her and rolled my eyes. "It's Emmett. What did you expect?"

"And now, we have Emmett Swan, captain of the football team!" The entire gym erupted into loud screams and cheers. I could see Emmett's fan club jumping up and down. They all decided to wear his football jersey to show support.

Emmett continued to dance and strut on stage with a goofy grin plastered on his face. I shook my head at the scene.

_My brother was such a goob!_

When Emmett's jar filled up to the top a few days ago, they added another container, so they ended up having two full jars of ballots for him. Amy emptied both jars into the metal raffle cage and started shuffling the ballots.

Rose sat up looking as confident as ever that she was going to win.

Amy reached in and pulled out a ballot and said, "The winner of a date with Emmett is... Tanya Denali!"

Rose jumped out of her seat and screamed, "WHAT THE FU–". I got up in time to put my hand over her mouth to stop from causing a scene as a few rows in front of us turned around to look at who was yelling.

"Rose! Calm down!" I murmured.

"What happened? I was so sure I was going to win. I can't believe that Tanya won!" She boiled with anger.

I could see Tanya making her way down to the stage. I sighed in relief that Tanya won Emmett's date. I don't think I would've taken it well if she won Edward. She was nice and everything but she always had her own agenda because of her gossip column. She was not loyal to anyone.

"She better not try anything – that bitch!" Rose shouted as more heads turned our way.

I eyed Jasper trying to tell him to do something to calm his sister down, but he merely shrugged his shoulders and slumped down in his seat.

Rose continued to go on about Tanya and eventually I zoned her out because I was too busy thinking about Edward and his raffle. He was up next as they saved the best for last. I smiled that the best was my boyfriend, but it didn't quell my nerves.

They started to prepare the stage as they rolled out his monstrous cage. I wondered if it had grown bigger than the one that Alice and I saw in the main office. The music started to play and all I could do was burst out laughing. _"Sexy Back" _by Justin Timberlake blared loudly through the overhead speakers.

_Who picked this song?_

I doubted Edward would've had any say in this particular song. I glanced quickly at the guys as they all started to smack each other on the backs and laugh their asses off.

I could only imagine what Edward's reaction was backstage when this song started. He must be livid.

The screams were getting louder and I could see Edward's entire fan club stand up and scream at the top of their lungs. It was practically one whole side of the gym.

Alice reached for my hand and grabbed it squeezing it tightly. I gulped and started to hope that our ballots would work or that George would win. Who was I kidding? There was no way I was going to win with the size of that cage.

"And now, the moment you have all been waiting for... the chance to win a date with Edward Cullen! Captain of the basketball team!" Amy shouted.

Edward stepped out onto the stage. The slight flush to his cheeks told me he was embarrassed, most likely because of the song still playing over the PA system. I could see the nervousness in his eyes but he exuded the same confidence that he always had in front of large crowds. He looked amazing as he walked to stand next to Amy. He winked at me and gave me my favourite smile though most of the girls thought it was for them as the squealing got louder. I could've sworn I saw someone faint in the crowd.

The cheering and screaming was so loud I had to put my hands up to my ears to avoid going deaf. I looked around and even Mark, Scott, and Brian were doing the same.

I looked at Alice who gave me a sheepish smile in return. I knew all hope of winning the raffle was lost after she threw me that look.

Amy started to shuffle the ballots around but had to use two arms because the wheel was so big. After a few turns, Amy reached into the cage and pulled out a ballot.

"And the winner is..."

I closed my eyes hoping that by some miracle I would win.

_Bella Swan_. I chanted over and over again in my head hoping that was the name I would hear.

"Mona Atkins!"

"Mona?" My eyes flung open as all of us jumped up saying her name.

"Mona Atkins?" Brian said slowly in disbelief.

Mark and Scott burst into laughter. Alice slapped them on the back of their heads. "Be nice!" she shushed at them.

I turned to see Mona emerging from the crowd. She was small and petite, almost frail looking. She was in the chess club, president of the math club, and part of the academic decathlon team. She had frizzy brown curly hair and big thick glasses that always framed her round pale face. She also had braces and I briefly wondered how much longer she had to wear those things. Wasn't it time to get them off already?

I didn't personally know her but I had a few classes with her and she always had the highest score. She was extremely shy but rumor had it that she was strange. I didn't want to judge so I never believed those rumors about her.

She slowly walked onto the stage and I could see Edward exchanging a few words with her. I could tell he was trying to make her feel comfortable. I was sure she was intimidated but she looked like she was really happy.

It didn't matter who won. I still didn't win which meant that Edward had to go on his date with someone else. As I looked at Mona, I couldn't but help notice the similarities between us – brown hair, pale skin, shy… He could still change his mind about me and that left me with bigger butterflies in my stomach.

I narrowed my eyes at Amy wishing that this stupid raffle never took place. This was all _her _fault!

* * *

**A/N: What did you think? Too bad George didn't win, eh? That would've been funny to write in Edward's POV. =) **

**Now the tables are turned and Bella has the insecurities about their relationship ... hmmm ... any ideas as to what will happen next? With Alice and Rose, mischief is bound to happen. Muahaha ... **

**Also, I saw New Moon on Thursday night for the midnight premiere. I liked it better than Twilight and was very pleased with the film. I think I might watch it again this weekend with my husband and sister. What did you think about it?  
**

**Happy Thanksgiving! **

**Please Review and Thanks for Reading!  
**


	33. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

**A/N: I'm BACK! I know it's been way overdue and it's been forever but I finally got up off my butt and finished this story. YES. It's done. Completely Finished. **

**Thank you to SavageWoman for helping me edit this a long time ago. I've had this chapter stored away for a very long time. I will be posting up the remaining chapters soon. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or The Ugly Truth or Scooby Doo or Ally McBeal. I do own the storyline and any characters that I make up. **

* * *

**Chapter 33 – Girls Just Wanna Have Fun**

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun by Cyndi Lauper

* * *

"We are totally going to spy on the guys' dates," Alice said as she cornered Rose and me in the hallway between classes. It had been a week since the stupid raffle, and the winners were going bat shit over winning.

Mike Newton had taken to flaunting around school that he was "dating" Jenny, which was ridiculous since he only won one date with her and that hadn't even happened yet. Steve was furious.

Other winners were gloating and some simply didn't care. I tried to keep an eye on Mona to see her reaction, but she was elusive.

I shook my head at Alice. "No way, Alice. I can't keep questioning my relationship. It's driving me crazy. I need to trust Edward and leave it at that," I stated firmly. I would hold my ground against the demanding pixie.

"But don't you want to know what's going to happen?" Alice whined.

"I do. I don't trust Tanya at all. Count me in," Rose sneered crossing her arms against her chest.

Alice turned to look at me, unleashing her signature puppy dog eyes.

_Don't look into the eyes, Bella! Avoid! Avoid! _

"Please, Bella? It'll be fun like a girls night out, and I promise we won't get caught," she pleaded.

I sighed and rolled my eyes.

"You promised that we wouldn't get caught the last time in the office when we tried to rig the votes, and we _almost_ got caught."

"Keyword is almost. But we didn't, and I know we won't get caught this time." She tapped the side of her forehead. "I have a very good feeling about this."

I hesitated. "I don't know. I don't want Edward to get upset. If he finds out about this…"

"He won't find out. I promise. Come on, Bella! You need to have fun and be adventurous," Alice chirped.

She had been pre-occupied with trying to get her mind off Maria. Since it was taking longer for us to get Maria's confession, she ended up channeling all her energy into extracurricular activities. That included annoying us day and night about spying on our boyfriends' raffle dates.

I had to admit that I was curious as to what would happen, but a part of me also wanted to trust Edward. We've been together for four months now, and I had to trust him like he trusts me.

"I'll think about it," I responded to Alice before walking off to class. I knew she wasn't happy with my answer, and I knew she would bug me to death until I gave in.

_What have I got myself into?_

* * *

_Where were they? _

I had a strong urge to find something or someone though I wasn't sure what I was looking for. I looked down at myself and realized that I was wearing a purple dress and that I had a bright green scarf tied around my neck. The long hair resting on my shoulders was bright red. As I looked in the distance, I could see bright blue and green Chevrolet Sportvan adorned with blue flowers. As I neared it, I could see the words "Mystery Machine" written in bright orange letters across the side.

I hesitated as I walked toward the car. _What would I find?_ I hoped nothing scary would pop out at me.

As I edged closer to the van, I slowly slid open the door and gasped in shock at the image before me.

It was Mona wearing an orange turtleneck sweater and red skirt with black-rimmed glasses and short brown hair. Her hands were interwoven in a guy's blonde hair. She pulled away quickly from him, and I noticed that her lips were swollen from kissing.

It wasn't until the guy turned around that I realized it was…Edward. She was kissing _my_ Edward! Why was she kissing _my_ Edward? And where did he get that awful white shirt with a blue color and…is that an orange tie?

They looked shocked to see me. "Daphne, I didn't want you to find out this way," Edward called out.

_Daphne?_

"Daphne, I think it's time you knew. It's been happening awhile, now—behind your back," Mona sneered.

"What?" I shouted in surprise.

"Fred, you have to tell her," Mona said turning to Edward.

_Fred? What the?_

"Daphne, it's time that I told you this. We're going off to college soon, and well, we were never meant to be. It's time that we both moved on. What we had was a fling, and I'm actually in love with Velma," Edward or this Fred said.

_Velma? What? In love! _

They resumed sucking each other faces, ignoring my presence as I turned to walk away. I jumped slightly when I looked to my side and saw Mike Newton dressed in a green shirt with long shaggy hair.

"It's okay, Daphne. Shaggy is here to save you," Mike said as he wrapped his arm around my shoulders.

My heart fell in my chest. Edward loved Mona, and now I was stuck with…Mike Newton!

I turned around looking for something. I wasn't sure what it was but something was missing from this picture. Just as I was about to focus on an image of a brown dog running toward me, I was jolted awake. My eyes flew open and fell upon Rose, who was staring at me with a huge grin on her face.

"Bells, did you just have a dream about _Scooby-Doo_?" she asked.

I closed my eyes and rubbed my forehead feeling slightly embarrassed.

_Ugh! I would never hear the end of this … _

"That is hilarious! I think that beats all the dreams you have had yet," she tried to say through her incessant laughter.

When she finally calmed down, she asked, "What was it about?"

"It was nothing," I said jumping out of bed and running into the bathroom. I shut the door behind me, not wanting to tell anyone about that dream.

_Scooby Doo_? Are you freaking serious? My mind had succumbed to an all time low. Did I really have a dream about a dog and group of teenage detectives? I must be going crazy. I looked at my reflection in the mirror and splashed some cold water on my face. I was having weird dreams all week, and it was starting to annoy me. It wasn't that I didn't trust Edward. I did. We just haven't discussed the future, and I was starting to wonder how long this relationship would last.

We were still in high school, but it was slipping by quickly. Spring break was just around the corner, and graduation would be upon us in a blink of an eye. I still wasn't sure what his plans were after high school. Were we going to stay together? What if we went off to different colleges? Would we be able to handle a long distance relationship?

He never told me that he loved me, and yet, I knew my feelings were as strong as ever. I could feel and see it in his eyes—there was love there— but it wasn't the same as hearing it. And I was ashamed of myself for not professing it yet either. I was scared. I wasn't sure if I wanted to know how he felt. What if I had told him, and it freaked him out?

I decided to spend the rest of the day studying in my room. Edward had basketball practice so it gave me some time to think. Luckily, Rose left to hang out with Emmett, so I was left alone with my thoughts. Why couldn't life and love be easy?

After a few hours of silence and classical music playing the background, there was a loud frantic knocking on my door.

**KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK! **

"Bella?" Edward's voice called out from the other side of the door.

"Come in!" I yelled out. My eyes focused on the computer as I was finishing my essay for English class.

"Bella!" Edward exclaimed as he strode over to my desk. The thrill in his voice made me turn around to face him. He had a white letter packet gripped in his hand.

"Guess what?" he asked, his eyes wide and bright.

I assumed it had something to do with college acceptance letters. They were slowly starting to trickle in. Well, more like the early acceptances. Most of the other letters wouldn't arrive until March, and we were still two weeks away.

"No way! Which school is it from?" I asked standing up from my desk chair to face him. Judging from the look in his eyes, it was better than good news, and I couldn't help the smile that slowly spread across my face.

"I got into _Stanford_!" he yelled pulling me into a tight hug as we jumped up and down screaming.

I was elated for him. My face was beaming with a huge smile. I kissed him on the cheek as he slowly released his death grip on me.

"Did you get your mail today?" he asked.

"Yeah," I paused. "Nothing came."

He looked slightly surprised, but he quickly masked it. Then he gave me a hug as he kissed me on the lips.

"Forget me," I replied hugging him tightly. "I'm so happy for you! We have to celebrate!"

I looked up at him and gave him my biggest smile trying to mask my true emotions. I couldn't lie and say that I didn't feel disappointed with myself for not getting any early acceptance to my first choice college. A knot started to form in my stomach, increasing my anxious feelings about college acceptances, and I couldn't help but wonder that whatever we would find out in the next month would change the rest of our lives.

* * *

As each day passed, my nervousness grew. It had been a week now, and I still hadn't receive anything from the schools that Edward had applied to. Sure, I had received early acceptances but they were from Dartmouth and Brown. My parents were definitely thrilled, but I had yet to receive anything from the college that I had always wanted to go to. Stanford.

And the fact that Edward got an early acceptance there did not help matters much. My stomach was doing flip-flops on a daily basis. It was depressing coming back to the room with an empty mailbox each day. At first, Edward would ask me if I had anything and eventually he stopped asking. I don't know if it was because he pitied me, or if he didn't want to bring it up in front of me. I welcomed his avoidance on the subject since I didn't want to be reminded about it every day.

It was Friday night, so we decided to crowd around in Emmett and Jasper's room to watch a movie. It was tight, considering there were eight of us, but we still fit comfortably in place. _Somehow_, the conversation got onto the topic of the big date, which was happening tomorrow night.

"You guys did what?" Emmett said, sounding completely dumbfounded at our confession.

"Um, well…," I started to confess but was cut off by Alice.

"We totally broke into the school's main office James Bond style and tried to rig the raffle." She beamed proudly.

"That is so cool!" Emmett boomed and hi-fived Alice causing a loud smack to resonate in the air. I was surprised he didn't hurt her. I shook my head at their excitement.

"And you guys didn't get caught?" Jenny asked.

"No…well, almost by Ms. Dalton. But no," Rose confirmed.

"Then how come none of you won?" Edward asked, scratching his head.

We all shrugged our shoulders. "Seriously, I thought we stuffed those jars good and plenty. Though, I can't say that Bella and Alice did much damage to your giant wheel, Edward," Steve said.

Edward glared at him. The guys had been giving him a hard time about the giant raffle cage. Edward, of course, gave everyone a hard time for changing the music that played while it was his turn.

Jenny sighed. "I really wish it did work. Now I have to go on a date with Mike Newton tomorrow. Have you heard what he's been spreading around the school? He's a nightmare!" She cringed, burying her face into Steve's shoulder. Steve sighed in frustration.

"Maybe it won't be so bad," I said trying to ease the situation. Everyone narrowed their eyes at me and pursed their lips. "Okay, fine. I won't sugar coat it then. I was just trying to be nice, sheesh." I raised my arms in defeat.

"I'll have to admit, your whole charade of playing spies and trying to rig a raffle sounds pretty funny to me," Edward said, trying to hold back his laughter.

"The things we do for the sake of love," Steve said, shaking his head.

I tensed up at Steve's last word. I was pretty sure every couple in this room besides Edward and I had told each other that they loved each other. It only made the elephant in the room worse

Edward whispered in my ear. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I lied. He could see through the lie and was about to press further when Alice interrupted him.

"Have you guys decided what you are planning to do for this date?" Alice asked. I knew she was digging for information.

Edward, Emmett, and Jenny shrugged their shoulders. "Well, we have to stay on campus so there aren't a lot of options," Edward added.

"If Tanya tries anything on you, I will kill her and make it look like an accident," Rose hissed to Emmett. She sounded a hundred percent serious.

Emmett wrapped his arms around her shoulders. "Don't worry, Rosie. I can protect myself. I'll even use pepper spray if I have to," he joked.

Rose smacked the back of his head and then grabbed his face and pulled it to her before they began a full-fledged make out session.

The rest of us rolled our eyes at them and went back to watching the movie.

Once the movie ended, Emmett narrowed his eyes at us. "You guys aren't planning to spy tomorrow, are you?"

Rose gave everyone her most innocent face and lied perfectly through her teeth. "No, we have plans. We're not going to waste our time spying on you. We have more important things to do."

She was speaking mainly for her and Alice. Steve enlisted Scott and Jasper to go with him to spy on Mike and Jenny in case Mike got out of hand. He swore it was more for protection purposes than actually being curious. _Yeah, right! _

It had been two weeks, and I still did not give into Alice's attempts at trying to convince me to join them. I stayed strong and didn't give in. There was little Alice could do to convince me.

At the end of the night, Edward walked me back to my room like he did all other nights. It wasn't dangerous at school, but he was always the perfect gentleman. It was silent, and I could hear the crickets chirping as we walked. I was lost in my own thoughts wondering about a zillion things.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked, breaking the silence in the air.

"Hmm? Oh, it's nothing," I said, brushing it off.

"Bella, I know something has been bothering you these past few weeks. Is it the date tomorrow?" he pressed as he stopped walking, causing me to turn to face him.

I immediately tensed up. Did Rose tell him about my dreams? I was going to kill her!

"No," I lied.

He rolled his eyes. "I know you're lying, Bella. You don't have anything to worry about. You have to trust me," he said.

"I trust you. I've just been really stressed about college acceptances. That's all," I said telling him a half portion of the truth.

I could tell he didn't buy my excuse, but he let it go. He placed his hands on my shoulders and looked me in the eyes with a sincere gaze.

"Bells, you'll be fine. I am sure you will have something for you in the mail soon. Dartmouth and Brown are great colleges too. Please don't stress about it."

_That's easy for you to say. _

I bit my tongue from saying anything that I shouldn't. I shouldn't lash out at Edward when it wasn't his fault I wasn't hearing back from Stanford. Bottom line, I was frustrated with myself and the fact that I was being bothered by these ridiculous reoccurring Scooby dreams wasn't helping the situation either.

Edward looked at me with concern. He sensed that something else was wrong.

_Why am I always an open book? _

I sighed. "I'm fine, Edward. Can we please just talk about something else?" I pleaded, hoping that everything would just go away.

"Are you excited for the Spring Break trip?" he asked.

I slapped my forehead. "Oh my God. I completely forgot about it," I mumbled, scratching my head.

At the moment, the Spring Break trip was the last thing on my mind.

I could see him frown slightly, but he quickly covered it up. "Oh, well, I'm sure Alice is handling it all so you don't have to worry about it," he said.

"Edward, I'm sorry I've been sort of a mess lately. I've just been all over the place," I huffed.

"Well, I really wish you would tell me what you're thinking because it really is hard for me to know what's going on in that head of yours," he stated.

"Trust me, you don't want to know."

"Try me."

I wanted to tell him everything. I wanted to blurt out all of my concerns and everything that was causing me stress. But how?

Instead of logically thinking through a response like a normal person, I ended up blurting it out instead.

"What are your plans with us? What do you want from this?" I practically shouted, pointing between the two of us. I think whatever I had said, scared him because he flinched back with a surprised look on his face. It was definitely not something he was expecting to hear.

"Do you even want this to last or is this over right after we graduate?" I bit my lip knowing that I had said too much. Why did I always have to blurt crap out without thinking?

Anger flashed in his eyes, causing my stomach to churn. "Bella, is that what you think?" he muttered through his clenched jaw.

I slowly nodded my head and looked down at the floor. I heard him sigh. He was probably running a hand through his hair, but I didn't dare look up.

The silence in the air was deafening, and all I could hear were the crickets chirping. I decided to speak first giving him a way out.

"It's getting late, and I'm tired. I'll see you later. Have fun tomorrow." I murmured before running inside my dorm. I didn't dare turn around to see his face. He probably had enough justification at this point to confirm that I was indeed crazy.

As I trudged into my room and threw on my pajamas, I climbed into bed, terrified about one thing. His silence. It was one thing to have a reaction but another to be completely silent. What was it all supposed to mean?

Two hours later, I awoke to another dream of Fred leaving Daphne for Velma. I flipped over to my side feeling completely frustrated. I had enough of the hidden symbolism. I had to take action, and I knew I was dying to find out what would happen tomorrow night. In a way, it felt like I needed to figure out his true feelings for me. Not that a date with Mona would figure that out, but maybe there would be some clues. And maybe, just maybe, I would finally get my answer.

I picked up my cell phone, making my final decision on what I was going to. And with that, I texted Alice.

* * *

"Alice, is wearing a dress necessary for tonight?" I hissed from inside the bathroom. She had given me a navy blue summer dress to wear after she had done my hair and makeup.

"Of course, Bella. We have to keep up with the façade that we're having a girls night out, so we have to look our best in case anyone sees us."

_Are you freaking kidding me?_

I rolled my eyes. "Stop rolling your eyes, Bella, and put on the damn dress. We don't have all night," Rose sneered from the other side of the door.

"Okay, okay." I put on the dress and stepped out of the bathroom to see my friends dressed from head to toe, looking like we were going out for a night out on the town.

"Let's go!" Rose said, grabbing onto Alice and me, and dragging us out of the room.

"Okay so the rules of the date night are that they have to stay on campus, and I know exactly where Edward and Emmett will be," Alice said as we walked to the on-campus mall.

"Let's find Emmett first," Rose said.

"Geez, paranoid much?" I joked.

Rose glared at me and snapped, "You'd think the same way too if Tanya won Edward so shut it."

I opened my mouth to protest but immediately closed it. She was right. If Tanya had won Edward, my dreams would've probably been centered more around _Cruel Intentions_ rather than _Scooby Doo_.

I followed behind Alice and Rose who were walking toward the school mall. "I know Emmett is taking Tanya to eat at the _Cheesecake Factory,_ and then he is going to take her to go bowling. I arranged to have our table on the other side of Emmett's table," Alice said.

"How did you manage to do that?" I interrupted.

"Connections, Bella! We're close enough to hear what they would be talking about but he won't be able to see us because of the divider," Alice glanced down at her watch.

"So I won't be able to see if she lays her hands on my man?" Rose said possessively.

Alice rolled her eyes and ignored her. "They should've just arrived, let's go!" How Alice knew the exact details of Emmett's date was beyond me.

As we arrived at the _Cheesecake Factory_, our waiter slid us into the booth next to Emmett's. We didn't have to sit in the booth next to them to hear them because I could hear Emmett's loud voice project across the entire room.

"So how do you get all your gossip for your column, huh?" he asked.

We leaned closer to the divider to hear her answer. I was always curious myself and wondered how she knew everything that went on at the school. I could see Alice's eyes twitch with delight, and I could tell Rose was just trying to figure out if she was trying to make the moves on Emmett.

"Obviously, I can't share that with you. I do have my sources though," Tanya teased.

Damn! Here I thought I was going to get the answer to the all-seeing source.

"So do you know everything?" Emmett asked.

"I know much more than I print. That's for damn sure," Tanya said.

It was quiet for a moment as we held our breath. I could tell Emmett was in deep thought before he spoke again.

"Do you know anything about Maria Ramos?"

I had to give it to my oaf of a brother. He was smart even though sometimes he acted like a complete idiot. I could see Rose looking proud, and Alice pressing herself even closer to the divider waiting for an answer.

"I know enough," Tanya snapped slightly, sounding tight lipped.

And that was it. There was nothing more that Emmett asked. He was probably afraid to pry because she sounded like she didn't want to share. I was sure whatever it was that Emmett might be able to get it out of her but that was a small chance.

I had to hand it to Tanya. She didn't seem as evil as I made her out to be in my head. She knew a lot of stuff but didn't feel it was necessary to print. From that statement, I knew she had a conscience. I just hoped she was our key to finding a way to catch Maria.

The rest of the dinner was boring, and I silently counting down the minutes. I started tapping my foot impatiently on the floor.

"Bella, we're almost done here. It doesn't seem that we should follow them to the bowling alley," Alice whispered.

"Speak for yourself. I'm sure as hell going," Rose sneered, not letting the booth where Emmett and Tanya were sitting out of her sight.

"Fine. We'll have to split up then. I'll go with Bella. We'll see you later tonight then. Don't forget, we want a full recap of what happened," Alice said, glancing quickly at her watch.

"Bella, let's go! We have to hurry!"

Then she grabbed my arm and led me out of the restaurant after waving bye to Rose.

"Edward should be on his way over here in about ten minutes, so let's get going," she dragged me out to the quad area. There were trees and benches around.

"How do you know Edward is going to take her here?" I questioned.

"Apparently Mona is obsessed with astronomy. He figured he would take her stargazing since she likes it so much," Alice said.

As we neared an empty bench, I looked around and then at Alice. "What are we supposed to do now?"

"See that tree?" She pointed to a large oak tree that shadowed over the bench.

"Yeah," I replied slowly, trying to guess what Alice had in mind. I knew Alice was up to her tricks again, and I probably shouldn't have asked her about it.

"We're going to climb it," Alice said, sounding enthusiastic.

"What? Are you crazy?" I shouted. There were some people walking around campus that stopped to stare at us.

Alice shushed me and then whispered, "Bella, you have to be quiet. And yes, we are going to climb the tree."

"What makes you think I can climb a tree? And in a dress? I can't even fathom what could happen. Alice do you not know me at all? Forget this. I'm going back to my dorm. This is ridiculous. Of all the crazy things," I rambled and walked off in the direction of my dorm.

She ran after me, pulling me back. "Get a grip, Bella! Don't give up now! Edward will be here in less than ten minutes. Don't you want to know what's going to happen? Besides, it's easy to climb a tree, and I promise you won't fall," she said confidently, tapping the side of her head again. She always did that, and it was starting to get on my nerves, but I had to hand it to her. She was always right…most of the time.

"Fine!" I huffed crossing my arms across my chest. "You go first so I can see how you do it."

Of course, she scaled the tree easily and made it look graceful at the same time. Why on earth did I agree to do this again? _Because you want to see Edward! Stupid! _

I took a deep breath and tried to scale the tree as best as I could. Of course, I was breathing heavy from trying to hoist myself up the damn tree and trying to pull down my dress to keep it from riding up.

"Bella! Hurry up! They're almost here!" I could hear Alice hiss from above.

"I'm trying!" I snapped. I pushed my body up again and was able to find a secure branch to sit on near Alice. She was only one branch away from me. The tree was massive and there were so many leaves that we were easily hidden.

"Shush, I can hear them coming now!" she whispered.

I couldn't hear a damn thing. Did she have bionic ears or something?

After a few seconds, I heard Edward's voice.

"I know you like astronomy so…I thought it would be nice to sit outside," he said. I could sense hesitation in his voice and maybe a bit of awkwardness.

"That's nice of you," Mona replied. Her voice was raspy. She sounded like a gypsy fortuneteller. I could see their dark shadows coming closer to the bench and could hear them sit down.

I saw Edward putting space between them. He was trying to make a point to her that he wasn't interested, and I smiled to myself.

"I noticed that something has been off with you the entire night. Are you okay, Edward?" Mona rasped again.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He shrugged his shoulders.

I bit my lip. He was definitely bothered by something. I could tell from his reaction.

"If you need a friend, I'm all ears," she said. She seemed nice and not like someone who was trying to steal my boyfriend like in my dreams. I immediately felt guilty for thinking about her in that way.

Alice looked at me encouragingly agreeing with my thoughts.

He sighed. "Well, it's about Bella, my girlfriend."

"Oh yes, she's very pretty. I think you two make a great couple. Was she okay about this?" I could sense fear in her voice.

"Well, okay isn't the exact word I would use," he said, laughing to himself.

"Oh, well, if it would make you two feel better, I honestly wanted to donate to the charity, and I didn't think I would win at all," she mumbled.

Could I feel any worse?

"I honestly don't want you to feel bad about winning. She just hasn't been telling me what's been bothering her, and I don't know what to do about it," he said.

"Is it about college?" Mona asked. How did she know?

"Yeah, I think so. I think she's wondering what's going to happen to us especially if we don't go to the same college."

"And? What do you want?" Mona pressed.

"Of course, I want us to stay together, no matter what," Edward said.

"Did you tell her this?" Mona added.

There was a slight pause. "No. I figured she knew."

Guys are so dense!

At that moment, Alice kicked me making me grab onto the branch tighter as I almost lost my balance.

I glared at her. _"Ow_! What was that for?" I mouthed in silence.

"For you to stop being stupid!"she mouthed back in silence.

"That's the difference between guys and girls, Edward. Girls can't read your mind, and you can't read theirs. You have to tell her," Mona said.

There was another pause. "You know what? You're pretty smart, Mona. Thanks for the advice, but this is your date. We shouldn't talk about my problems anymore. So you really like astronomy, huh?"

I smiled mainly because I was extremely proud of him. He still wanted to make Mona feel special even though the conversation had shifted to us. And Mona was so great in offering him advice, and I was grateful.

Mona exclaiming, "It's something about the stars that get me excited," was the last thing I heard before I felt my grip slip on the branch and a loud crack came from branch below me.

I closed my eyes waiting for my impact with the grassy floor below, but nothing came. Instead, I felt myself hanging upside down from the tree. My dress was starting to fall over me, exposing my underwear for everyone to see.

_Oh my God! This can't be happening! Please let me be dreaming. Please let me be dreaming. _

I heard Alice scream, "Bella!"

I kept my eyes tightly shut, hoping that Edward and Mona wouldn't see me. I frantically tried to keep my dress wrapped around me to keep me from being exposed, but gravity wasn't helping. Maybe I was too far up in the tree. Maybe they wouldn't see me.

"Bella?" I cringed at the sound of his voice, knowing I'd been caught red-handed.

**Oops. **

I slowly opened my eyes to see Edward looking at me upside down and Mona eyeing me with concern.

"I'm so sorry," I blurted out. That was all I could say.

"Bella, were you spying on us?" he asked.

I closed my eyes and bit my lip.

"It's not what it looks like, Edward!" Alice said as she appeared next to Edward and Mona. How did she get down from the tree so fast?

A group of students started to form near the tree I was still hanging from. I tried desperately to not flash everyone, but it was nearly impossible.

"Um, guys. A little help here, please. I think I'm stuck," I begged as I felt my face turn bright red.

Edward raised an eyebrow at me, and I swear the thought of him wanting to keep me up here to suffer crossed his mind. He sighed and then walked over and pulled on the tie of my dress that was wrapped around the branch. I fell easily into his arms before he set me on the ground.

"Thanks," I said, looking down at the ground in embarrassment. I couldn't look at him. He must really be disappointed in me now.

"Alice is wrong. This is what it looks like. I was spying. I admit that, and I am completely embarrassed and ashamed, especially for ruining your date. I am so sorry," I pleaded.

"Bella…" Edward sighed, but I held up my hand to stop him.

I looked up at Mona. "Mona, I'm so sorry about all of this. Alice and I will leave now, and you guys can get back to enjoying your date in peace," I said before I turned on my heel and started to walk away with my head still down.

"Bella, look at—" I heard Edward's voice behind me, but Alice cut him off.

"No! It's all my fault. I pestered her all week about this. She kept saying 'no,' telling me that she trusted you, and that she didn't want to spy on you. But you know how I get," Alice rambled.

Edward's answering scoff made me cringe. He had to be furious with me.

"Alice, that's enough. Let's just go." I grabbed onto Alice and dragged her away with tears filling my eyes. I ruined everything. I couldn't look at him. I didn't want to see the disappointment written all over his face.

"Bella!" Edward called. Crap! He sounded angry.

I continued to drag Alice away, refusing to answer him as a tear slipped down the side of my face.

"Bella, are you okay? I'm so sorry. This was such a bad idea. I just don't know how to stop myself sometimes," Alice muttered, sounding defeated.

"Alice, I agreed to do it. We'll see if he ever wants to talk to me again," I mumbled.

"He will talk to you. He's my brother, and I'll make him if he doesn't," she said.

"Alice, I appreciate your help but I don't want you to influence Edward in any way. This is all my fault, and I need to figure out how to fix it," I said.

"Bella, I got you into this mess, and I will get you out of it."

"Alice, please just let me worry about this," I pleaded, hoping she wouldn't come up with another horrible scheme.

We walked to the dorm in silence, as I didn't know what to do. That was the worst thing that could ever happen. Not only did I eavesdrop on their entire conversation, but I got caught doing it. And I practically flashed everyone in the process. It was probably the most embarrassing situation of my life. Add that to the never-ending list.

* * *

**A/N: Another embarrassing moment and more daydreams. Bella is getting worried. When you're in a relationship in high school, college is always the top question as to the next step in the relationship. **

**I hope you liked it and again, I'm so sorry for the long wait. **

**Thank you for reading and reviewing! **

**Next chapter goes up soon! **


	34. Lovesong

This chapter was not beta'ed. Sorry for any mistakes in advance.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or Ally McBeal. I do own the storyline and any characters that I make up.**

* * *

**Chapter 34 - Lovesong**

**Lovesong by The Cure**

* * *

I told Alice to give me some time alone as I sat in my room and cried. It was mostly because I was angry at myself for being an idiot. Eventually, when the tears dried up I started pacing my room trying to figure out what to do. I bit down on my lip and thought about what I could do to get myself out of the mess that I had created.

Should I wait outside of Edward's dorm room and beg for his forgiveness? Or should I write a letter to him? Email? Text?

There are a million ways to communicate with a person and the fact that talking to him in person which was probably the right thing to do was scaring the crap out of me. I couldn't face him. I couldn't face his disappointment.

I could run and hide. If I avoided him, then maybe I could resist the timing of him breaking things off with me because surely he would. I was crazy and he had every right to be angry and upset with me.

At this point, even I would break up with me for all the embarrassing things that I've put him through.

The anxiety was driving me insane so I decided to take a walk outside to help clear my thoughts. I grabbed my keys and ran out the door.

As I ran outside the building, I took in big gulps of fresh air trying to help calm the rapid pulsing of my heart. I decided to walk the opposite direction of where I last left Mona and Edward. Running into them would've been even more awkward to say the least.

I wandered around the school campus lost in thought and started to think about everything. Why couldn't I just tell Edward that I loved him? What was wrong with saying it first? Why is it such a big freaking deal? If you really loved someone you would blurt it out to the whole world and let them know, right?

I started to replay all of the memories that I had with him. Homecoming, Halloween, Christmas. Every moment of every day that I spent with him. He was my world and I was his just the same.

I wanted to kick myself for not saying anything and for questioning everything. I knew that he loved me. He didn't have to say it. I could see it in his eyes every time I closed my eyes and pictured his face. I could see it in his actions and I could feel it radiating off him.

At that moment, it hit me. I didn't care if he was upset at me or disappointed with what just transpired. I didn't care if my most embarrassing moment that just happened to me less than two hours ago was still fresh on our minds. I needed to tell him how I felt and apologize for what I did.

I ran toward his dorm. I ran into his building passing guys who were looking at me to see what was going on. I stopped outside his door and knocked hoping he was back from his date with Mona.

"Edward," I called out.

There was no sound on the other side.

I knocked louder this time hoping he was in there but that he couldn't hear me.

"Edward, it's me." I said. Maybe he didn't want to talk to me but I didn't care. I would break down the door if I had to. Or maybe he wasn't back yet.

I walked over to Scott's room, which was the closest to Edward's and saw that his door was wide open. There were loud sounds of bombs going off and gunfire. I looked in and saw him and Mark with their eyes glued to the TV screen playing _Call of Duty_.

"Hey guys, have you seen Edward?" I asked.

There was no response. Maybe they didn't hear me.

"Um, Hello?"

I repeated myself louder this time and knocked on the door. It wasn't until a few seconds later that Mark barely turned to the side to glance at me for a second and then went back to focusing his eyes on the game. Scott gave me a grunt, which I took as a sign that he knew I was there.

"Oh, hi Bella!" Mark said in a rush pushing frantically at the buttons on his controller.

"Have you guys seen Edward?"

No response again. I cleared my throat and was about to start again when Brian glided past me and sauntered into the room.

"You're never going to get anywhere with those two. What's up, Bells?" he said.

"Have you seen Edward?"

"He came back but left a few minutes ago. He looked like he was in a rush. Did you try calling him?"

I checked my pockets for my cell phone.

"Crap! I left mine in my room. I'm going to go back and find him. Thanks! Bye Guys!" I shouted before leaving and was responded back with a series of grunts.

I ran back over to my building and started climbing the stairs when I saw a large group of girls huddled by the stairs. I tried to get through them but the crowd was large and growing.

I could hear Edward's voice and loud music playing. "Bella! Please, Bella! Listen to me!" he shouted loudly while knocking on my door. I could see him in the distance but wasn't sure what was going on.

I could hear the music turn down a little lower. He put his forehead against the door looking defeated. I tried to push my way past the group of girls in front of me but I couldn't get through. It like a massive wall of girls that stood before me creating a blockade between us. They were no doubt curious as to what was going on. Then I started to hear their whispers.

"_I wonder what happened."_

"_It sounds like she's pissed. He's been standing there knocking for ten minutes and she hasn't opened the door." _

"_If they break up, I called dibs first!"_ I looked in the direction of where that came from and narrowed my eyes at the girl.

Then I heard Edward talking again and I tried to focus on what was going on, "Bella, I know you don't want to talk to me right now and I know I've been the biggest idiot."

I could see the top of his head and his hands tugging at his hair. "Edward!" I tried to shout but he didn't turn around. I doubt he could hear me with the massive crowd that was standing between us.

"You have to know how I feel Bella. I would prefer to say this to your face but if you're not willing to listen then I'm just going to tell you."

"Ed–"

I was interrupted when I felt someone grab my arm. I turned to see Alice staring at me with curious eyes. "What the hell is going on?" she asked trying to look over the crowd but they towered over her tiny frame.

I shrugged my shoulders. "I have no idea. I just got back from trying to find Edward and now these groupies are here and all I can hear is him talking but I can't see him and he can't hear me!" I sighed in frustration.

I heard Edward speak up again. This time he sounded nervous. Why was he nervous? "I … I want you to know that I want this to last. I want this. And I think you should hear it or better yet I need to do this for you."

I heard him clear his throat. Then I felt Alice dig her fingernails into my arm. "Ow! Alice, what the hell?"

I looked into her eyes and saw that they were filled with fear. What on earth was going on?

"Bella, you have to _stop_ him," she pleaded, "before it's too late."

What was she talking about?

Then it started.

"_Whenever I'm alone with you, you make me feel like I am home again_," he sang.

At that moment, life paused.

I had always thought Edward was perfect. Crushing on him for three years made me think that everything he did was perfect. The way he moved, the way he talked, just being who he was. Even after we became a couple, I still thought he was perfect and that he was good at everything. I'm sure the entire school thought the same since they practically worshipped him like a god. But there was one thing that Edward Cullen couldn't do. And that was singing.

I thought back to the bonfire and tried to remember if he sang. I could've sworn that he did but all I could come up with was that he was mainly just saying the words but not really singing. His voice was always smooth like velvet but for some reason, his singing was ... terrible.

"_Whenever I'm alone with you, you make me feel like I am whole again._"

"What on earth is that god awful noise?" I heard someone screech from behind me. Luckily, I was glad that Edward didn't hear her.

The crowd in front of me started to whisper and snicker as he continued to sing, screech, but then they started to disperse.

"_And I thought he was good at everything," _some freshmen girl pouted as she walked away.

"_With a singing voice like that no thanks, she can have him." _

"_So he's not Mr. Perfect but he's still hot."_ I narrowed my eyes at the girl who was ogling Edward.

"Please make him stop." A girl that was standing in front of me turned pleading to me. I looked at Alice who had a look of terror splashed across her face.

The crowd was thinning out now allowing me to get a full glimpse of him.

"_Whenever I'm alone with you, you make me feel like I am fun again,"_ he continued singing off-key in every possible way.

I was in complete shock. Surely, this was something that would happen to me but not to Edward. I didn't think that would ever happen but I was definitely wrong. And as I stood there gaping at him, I wasn't sure what to do.

Then my eyes fell upon the door and I saw a black elastic hairband that was placed around the doorknob. Uh oh … this was not good. I had to stop him now. I tried pushing past the remaining girls who were still standing there staring at him in shock.

"_However far away_," he sang but was abruptly cut off when the door to my room flew open.

Emmett rushed toward him and grabbed Edward into a bear hug. I could see Edward's eyes practically bulging out of his head. "_I will always love you_," Emmett sang finishing the lyrics to the song.

Then Emmett set Edward down as Edward pushed him away. "Get off of me, Emmett!"

"You know I love you man but dude, you seriously need some freaking singing lessons," Emmett replied earning a few chuckles from the dissipating crowd.

Edward ignored Emmett's comment but continued, "Where's Bella? I thought she was here."

"Nope," Emmett answered.

"So you heard everything?"

"Yep."

Edward sighed. "I'm going to look for Bella then."

"Here take her cell phone, it kept going off every thirty seconds playing the Glee cover of "Teenage Dream" until you showed up at the door. There's only so much Glee I can handle." Emmett threw my cell phone at him.

"Finally, some peace and quiet," Emmett grumbled as he slammed the door shut. Edward slumped his shoulders and turned to walk toward my direction. Most of the girls that were standing around were now gone. Alice was still there lingering and I knew it was because she was nosy.

He still hadn't seen me and I still didn't say anything. I was in awe and was completely speechless. This amazing guy was willing to embarrass himself in front of the entire dorm just to tell me the one thing I wanted to hear. Though I wasn't sure if he realized that he was bad at singing so maybe he didn't think it was embarrassing.

He stepped closer to where I was standing and finally he looked up at me. Our eyes locked instantly and then he started to ramble. "You probably saw all of that and it was definitely not how I pictured it to happen. I wanted it to be spe–"

I interrupted him not wanting to hear his rambling anymore. "I love you."

He did a double take at my words and stood there looking like he was in a daze. But then he snapped out of his daze as he wrapped me in his arms and whispered in my ear, "I love you so much."

He bent down and kissed me lightly on the lips. I, on the other hand, wanted more as I pushed him deeper into me and lengthened the kiss.

All I could hear was Alice saying, "Okay, show's over people. Go back to your rooms. Everything is fine here now."

I smiled against Edward's lips as we pulled apart but realized that we still needed to talk.

"I'm so sorry about what happened. I was such an idiot. I ruined your date with Mona and I was so stupid for not trusting you. I was having these crazy dreams. Well, nightmares really and I couldn't take it anymore. With the stress from college acceptances and not knowing where you stood I gave in and I know I shouldn't have," I said looking down at the floor in embarrassment.

He pulled my chin up to look at him. "It's okay, Bella. I know you have your insecurities. I've had my fair share of those as well. I'm not mad. Granted, it was pretty funny seeing you up in that tree." He chuckled as I slugged him lightly in the shoulder and gave him a pout.

"I'm not angry at you. I knew something was bothering you and I honestly didn't know what it was. I thought you knew what I wanted but then I realized that you can't read my mind and I can't read yours. I want you to know that I want this to last. Even if we go off to different colleges or whatever happens. I want to be with you," he said taking my hands in his.

"I do too," I said as I squeezed his hands and enveloped myself into his arms. I rested my head against his chest until I realized something.

"What's wrong?" Edward asked sensing my tension.

"I'm shut out of my room." I pulled away from him and looked at him. He raised an eyebrow at me in confusion.

"Whenever there is a black elastic hairband around the door knob, it usually means that, uh, Rose and Emmett are having their, um, _fun_," I said.

Edward cringed and grabbed my hand leading me down the stairs. "No need for a mental picture. Let's go back to my room."

As we walked toward his room, he asked me one question. "What were your nightmares about anyway?"

I turned away looking embarrassed but then something popped in my mind. "I'll tell you about it if you promise me one thing."

"What?" he asked.

"Please don't ever sing again," I teased.

"Was I really _that_ bad?" he stopped walking.

"I don't think I can ever stomach The Cure again," I smiled as I dragged him back to his room.

* * *

"God, Alice! What the hell did you pack in here?" Edward yelled as he tried to shove her suitcase into my SUV. He rarely got upset but I guess after the fifth suitcase, it was a bit tiresome.

"Clothes and camping gear. We need to be prepared," she said placing her hands on her hips trying hard to show Edward that she was getting her way.

"But we're staying in cabins, Alice," I added.

"Yeah, I know but I just want to make sure we have everything we need."

"We can't do it little pix. The camping gear needs to stay here. There is no room for it. Sorry," Emmett said earning a pout from Alice.

The entire parking lot at school was filled with cars. We were finally off on Spring Break and everyone was packing up their things for the long free week ahead.

We had a caravan of cars ready to go up to Mammoth Lakes for the entire week. There were about twenty of us in total so Alice and Edward's parents had rented two cabins. One for the guys and one for the girls. Of course, they were coming as chaperones because they said we couldn't be trusted to be left alone.

Once everything was packed and ready, we set off. Edward drove my car as we followed behind Esme and Carlisle's black Mercedes SUV.

Of course, we had the walkie talkies as they were strategically placed in everyone's cars that were following behind us. Brian and Steve's cars were in the middle and Emmett followed up the rear with his monster truck.

It wasn't until after about two hours that Rose called in over the walkie talkie.

"_We need to stop again, Emmett needs a pit stop." _

"_Again? Em, it's been like the fifth time already. You are worse than a girl. Can you hold it?"_ I responded back earning a few chuckles over the static.

I could hear Emmett trying to grab the walkie talkie from Rose. _"I tried holding it. It's not my fault I like drinking Big Gulps." _

"_We'll make a stop at the next gas station on the right."_ Esme's voice came through the loud speaker.

I sighed and shook my head.

"Is he like this during your away games too?" Alice asked Edward.

"Pretty much. The coaches always give him a hard time for it. I swear he has the bladder of a five year old," Edward smirked.

Jasper laughed. "Welcome to Emmett's World!"

After three more hours and two more stops, we finally made it past a sign that said "Mammoth Lakes".

We started following a dirt road that wove up a mountain. After a couple of turns left and right, it started to feel like Esme and Carlisle weren't sure where they were going.

"Do you think we're lost?" I glanced at Edward with a worried expression as he picked up the walkie talkie. Alice and Jasper were passed out in the backseat.

"I don't think so. Let me check," he said.

"_Mom, do you know where the cabins are?"_

"_I have the GPS set to go there but it doesn't seem to be getting a signal up here. We should be there soon,"_ Esme said.

"_I hope it's soon because I have to go pee again,"_ Emmett whined.

I rolled my eyes. After a few more U-turns and driving up a dirt path, we stopped in front of two cabins that were situated next to each other around a large circular driveway. Edward stopped the car and we got out slowly as Alice and Jasper started to wake up from their nap.

Everyone else started getting out of their cars and stopped to stare at the two cabins in front of us. I wasn't sure what to think about the sight before me but I secretly pinched myself wondering if I was dreaming. Edward looked down at me and silently laughed as I turned back to gaping at the cabins.

The cabins were made of logs and were extremely old, which I figured was standard for any cabin but these cabins were filthy dirty. The windows had dirt caked onto the glass that you could barely see through them. Cobwebs were apparent in almost every corner of the cabin. The window shutters were falling apart. They didn't look like they had been lived in for years, maybe even a century.

And judging from Esme's standard of living and if it was similar to my mom's taste, this was definitely not going to cut it.

"Aunt Esme, what's this?" Alice asked with a hint of fear trailing in her voice.

I could hear everyone else starting to mumble to themselves.

"Kids, let me double check on these cabins. This doesn't look like the picture of the cabins that I rented. I made sure I found two _nice_ and _brand new_ cabins," Esme said as she took out her cell phone and started dialing furiously on it. I could tell she was getting frustrated as she hit the phone a few times.

"There's no signal. Can you all check your phones?" she said in a clipped tone

All twenty of us brought out our phones to check but no one had a good signal.

"I can text but I can't call out," Rose answered. Some of the other girls nodded agreeing with her.

"Honey, let's check to see if the keys fit. This could be the wrong place," Carlisle said calmly as he walked up to the cabin and stuck the key in. The door swung open as a cloud of dust formed in the doorway.

I could see Esme and Carlisle look at each other with wide eyes. Emmett made a beeline for the inside of the cabin pushing past Esme and Carlisle desperate to find a restroom. Carlisle slowly followed after him trying to gauge what we were dealing with but I could tell he didn't want to venture too far into the space.

Esme looked completely in shock. She was freaking out and that was not a good sign if she was freaking out.

Just then, all I could hear was Emmett's blood curdling scream as he ran out of the house clutching his pants to keep them from falling down. The rest of the girls started screaming along with him jumping in fear as to what was going on. Was he hurt? Did something happen to him?

I screamed as loud as I could and immediately grabbed onto Edward scared that there might be a fugitive from prison hiding out inside. He pushed me behind him in a protective stance ready to face whatever Emmett was running from.

"What is it?" Rose screamed as Emmett ran behind her hiding himself.

"There is a thing living in that bathroom. A thing!" he gasped.

"What thing?" Edward asked cautiously.

Just then I got a sniff of an awful smell. "What is that horrible smell?" Steve asked scrunching his nose.

We all started sniffing around just as a black skunk scurried out from inside the cabin out to the front porch and into the woods as Esme screamed latching onto Carlisle for dear life.

"EMMETT!" Rose yelled.

"Dude, you just got sprayed!" Scott gagged while holding his nose.

"Oh man," Emmett said sniffing himself.

"Kids, we are getting out of here! There is no way we are staying here. I'm going to go down and get us hotel rooms or another cabin. Wait here for us until we come back," Esme said frantically grabbing onto Carlisle and throwing him into the passenger seat as she jumped into the driver seat and peeled the car out of the driveway.

"I don't think I've ever seen your mom that scared before, Edward," Steve said.

"I don't think I have either," Edward mumbled earning some weary glances among the group.

"You smell so bad, Emmett!" I scrunched up my nose and plugged it to stop myself from breathing in.

"How do I get rid of it?" Emmett asked.

"You have to wash yourself with tomato juice," Mark said.

"Wash myself with tomato juice?" Emmett repeated in disbelief.

"Yes, you have to completely drench yourself in it to get rid of the smell." We looked at Mark curiously wondering how he knew that bit of information.

"What? I saw it on the Discovery Channel once. Sheesh." Mark shrugged his shoulders as everyone started scratching their heads in confusion.

"Where on earth are we going to find enough tomato juice to cover Emmett with?" Jenny asked. Good question. Emmett was so big we would have to buy a truckload just so he could swim in it.

"Costco. We'll go pick something up once we figure out the housing situation," Alice answered.

"Let's go check it out inside. It can't be all that bad, right?" Brian said.

"Hell no. There is no way I am going in there," Rose said firmly as the rest of the girls nodded their heads.

"I'm not going in there." I whispered to Edward still clutching onto him.

"I'm not planning to go in either," he said.

"Fine, we'll go in first." Mark said.

Mark, Brian, Jack, Garrett and Scott were the brave ones that dared to enter. The lights were dark inside and it didn't even look like there was electricity.

"Emmett, you stink so bad. Go sit over there," Rose said pointing to a log about thirty feet away.

"I don't think that's going to help," I said as Emmett glared at me.

"I just can't take it anymore. It's awful," Rose said pinching her nose with her hand.

"I second that, sorry Em," Edward said.

Eventually, everyone complained about Emmett smelling so horrible that he moved to sit on a dead log about twenty feet away and sat there playing with his iPhone.

After a few more minutes, all five guys in the cabin ran out of there swatting their hands around their faces and heads.

"What happened in there?" Stacey said.

"There are cobwebs everywhere. The electricity doesn't seem to work or the water. And I think there are more than a few _things_ living in there aside from that skunk. It's bad," Jack said.

We waited for another hour until Esme and Carlisle finally came back. They didn't look happy.

"Well, it turns out that we were scammed. We got cheated into renting this place and all the hotels and surrounding cabins are booked for spring break. We have no other choice but to stay here," Carlisle said.

"Are you freaking serious?" Alice shrieked.

"There's no electricity or running water," Brian said.

"I would rather sleep outside in the woods," Scott said.

"We can't do that because the overgrown smelly ogre over there told me to leave the camping gear back at school!" Alice yelled as she started to hyperventilate.

"What are we going to do?" she panicked as Jasper tried to calm her down.

I turned to Edward with probably the biggest eyes I had ever unleashed on him as fear shook through me. "I'm terrified of spiders, Edward. You've seen me. There could be hundreds in there, I might pass out," I whispered to him clutching onto his shirt.

He grabbed onto my hand trying to loosen up my grip. "It's okay, Bella. We'll find a way to clean it up. Everything will be fine," he said soothingly but it wasn't helping.

I started to freak out trying to take in deep breaths as Edward started to fan my face with his hand to give me air. The tension in the air was building as everyone around us started growing nervous and scared. What were we going to do? We couldn't stay here. There was no way we would survive. We had to go back to home. That was the only answer.

"Everyone calm down," Jasper shouted as everyone stopped talking over each other.

Carlisle cleared his throat. "Thank you Jasper. We'll figure out a way to make this work. Guys we will need to go in first and inspect the cabins to make sure we don't have any _unwelcomed_ visitors. Girls we will need you to go get some cleaning supplies and meet us back here. By then we hope to get the electricity and water up and running," Carlisle said.

Hope? Oh boy, we were in for a long week.

* * *

**A/N: This was sort of fluffy ... and it will be fluffy from here on out. Hope you liked it. The Mammoth trip should get interesting ... =) **


	35. Good Enough

A/N: Thanks for reading and reviewing for those of you that have continued with the story! One more chapter and this story will be done! Here is another fluffy chapter ... hope you like it!

Sorry no beta this time either. Sorry for any mistakes!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or Ally McBeal. I do own the storyline and any characters that I make up.**

* * *

**Chapter 35**

"Good Enough" by Cyndi Lauper

* * *

After going to Costco and buying practically every sanitary cleanser that was available as well as all the tomato juice they had in stock, we made it back to the cabins.

A dim light was on in both cabins and the boys were busy sweeping and wiping the windows.

"Well, at least they got the electricity up and running," Rose said as the car stopped and we got out standing in front of the cabin.

"Is it safe to go inside?" Carrie asked.

"We cleaned up as much as we could so all the creatures are gone now. Feel free to go inside and look around," Jasper said motioning us toward our cabin.

"We cleaned up all the spiders too," Edward said for my benefit.

We all crowded behind Rose as she was the only one brave enough to enter first. As she stepped inside, I could hear her frustrated sighs, which was a bad sign.

I slowly walked behind Alice getting a better look into the cabin. It was a large room filled with five bare bunk beds and a single twin sized bed in the corner. A kitchen was in the corner and a door that led to what I guessed was the bathroom. And that was it.

"Well, I guess it isn't that bad," Kate said.

"It sort of reminds me of my summer camp that I used to go to when I was eight," Annie said.

"Oh girls, this is horrible. I'm so sorry!" Esme said brushing past everyone and walking right into the center of the cabin.

"No, Mrs. Cullen. This really isn't bad. We can clean it up and make it better," Jenny said hoping to make Esme feel better.

"Yeah, Aunt Esme. It's fine. Plus, I got sleeping bags for everyone while we were at Costco! I love that place!" Alice chimed as she walked back outside to unload the cars.

It really wasn't _that_ bad. We just had to clean and fix it up. So we spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning and making the place adequate for living for the next six days.

We gave Esme the single twin sized bed as the rest of us each took a bunk bed. I shared a bunk bed with Jenny as she called dibs on the top bunk. The cabin did remind some of the girls of summer camp so they started to trade some stories, which helped pass the time as we cleaned.

After cleaning and setting it up for us to stay, the cabin actually had a nice cozy feeling to it. It was actually sort of nice.

"Who wants to shower first?" Esme asked looking around at us. No one stepped forward to go first but I was feeling particularly grimy and gross from cleaning all day.

"I'll go first," I offered grabbing my things and towel and headed toward the bathroom.

It was a tiny bathroom with enough space for a shower, toilet and sink. There was barely enough space to fit one person. This was going to be hard to share a bathroom of this size with nine other girls.

I put my things down and stripped out of my clothes wrapping a towel around myself as I turned on the faucet for the shower. Just as I was about to step inside, I saw ... IT!

A large grey colored rat with mangy fur and its long thick tail tried to come up and out of the drain hole scurrying away from the water.

I started screaming and tried to jump on top of the toilet to stand on something other than the floor.

There was a loud pounding on the other side of the door.

"Bella! What is it?" Rose screamed from the other side of the door.

"What's wrong?" Alice shrieked.

I screamed even louder as the rat scurried out of the shower and onto the ground trying to run around the room looking for a way out. I grabbed the toilet brush and started whacking away as I screamed at the top of my lungs.

WHACK! WHACK!

"Let us in!" Jenny screamed.

I grabbed onto the door trying to open it and push it open but it was stuck.

"Let me out!" I roared louder.

Just then I heard Edward's voice on the other side of the door. "Bella! What's wrong?" He sounded panicked and scared as he banged on the door trying to wriggle it open.

"AHHHHH," I screamed again trying to whack the rat with the toilet brush, holding the towel tighter around myself.

"Let me out, please!" I begged.

I kicked at the door as hard as I could and it flung open as Edward dodged out of the way. I ran toward my bed as the room filled with screams and all the girls started jumping up on their beds.

"It's a RAT! It was in the drainhole!" I shouted.

I watched as the rat scurried around the room and then right out the front door which was left wide open with the rest of the guys standing in the doorway staring at us in disbelief.

There was a moment of silence and then all eyes fell on me as I realized that I had nothing on but a towel wrapped around myself and a toilet brush in one hand.

I quickly grabbed Edward and stood behind him so he could shield me.

"What were you planning to do? Whack it to death with a toilet brush?" Emmett boomed trying to hold his laughter.

I pointed the brush at him from around Edward who was trying really hard to block me from everyone's view. "I'll have you know that I got a few good hits with it. And it's not funny. You ran away from the skunk!"

Emmett was about to retort but was interrupted by Jasper. "She does have a point there," he said.

"Well, it was pretty funny though you have to admit," Brian teased.

"Wait a second, did _you_ guys do this?" Stacy said immediately turning on the guys. All of the guys eyes bugged out of their heads and I could feel the tension rising in the room.

"Are you still upset about the slumber party?" Mark groaned.

"Don't think that we will get over it! We know it was you!" Janet huffed putting her hands on her hips.

"We didn't have anything to do with it," Scott jumped in.

"Definitely wasn't us. But it was pretty hilarious watching you girls freaking out and screaming over a little rat just now."

Emmett started to mimic our screaming and raising his hands up in the air trying to tease all of us. The rest of the guys started laughing and I glared at Edward who tried to hide his laughter.

"It wasn't just a _little_ rat," Jenny sneered glaring angrily at the guys.

"Yeah, it wasn't," Rose added narrowing her eyes at Emmett.

Breaking the tension in the room, Esme stepped in. "Boys, why don't you go back to your cabin and get ready? Dinner will be ready soon."

Not wanting to disagree with Mrs. Cullen, the guys stepped back out of the cabin and left closing the door behind them.

"Those guys! Ugh!" Carrie snapped.

"They make me so mad!" Stacy grabbed onto her sleeping bag and pulled at it.

"I know!" Janet added as she stomped around the room in a fit.

Most of the girls were upset, well, the cheerleaders were and something definitely ruffled their feathers.

"Okay, what's going on?" I asked.

"The football team pranked us a few weeks ago at our annual cheerleader team slumber party and everyone is still pissed about it," Jenny shook her head in disappointment.

"What did they do?" Alice asked.

"They scared the shit out of us and there were mice involved," Kate sighed.

"Not to mention a trantula!" Annie shivered at the thought.

"Wait, Edward was a part of this too?" I had to ask because if there was a spider involved I had to know if he would be part of it.

"Yes, Bella. Don't be fooled by the goodie two shoes image he has going on. He is just as bad as all the others." Stacy continued pulling on her sleeping bag like she was about to rip it in half.

"What about Jasper?" Alice asked.

"Apparently, he was there too from what we know. The only one that was missing was Steve." Jenny said texting on her cell phone. We couldn't get any phone reception but were lucky enough to get a bar here or there to send out text messages.

"Tell me you did something to get back at them," Rose said jumping on her bed and sitting down to listen to everyone.

"We haven't had a chance," Janet sighed sitting up against her bed.

"Until now." Jenny smiled mischievously putting away her cell phone. This got all the girls sitting up and listening intently to her plans.

"I like where this is going," Rose chimed.

"But what about Steve? He's your boyfriend and you said he wasn't involved," I asked wondering how this was all going to pan out.

"Oh, he'll be part of it. Just because he's my boyfriend doesn't give him a get out of jail for free card. The guys have been playing pranks on us for years. And now it's time for payback." Jenny slammed her fist in her hand.

"And I got Mrs. Cullen to help out which is going to be good."

We all looked at Esme who had a bright smile across her face. "Jenny told me what happened and those boys deserve a good scare."

"What's the plan?" I asked.

Jenny grinned at us with possibly the biggest smile that I had ever seen. "They are so going to regret ever messing with us …"

* * *

We just finished eating dinner in our cabin with everyone crammed into the room. The girls did a good job of pretending that nothing was wrong and that everything was fine. I was hoping I wouldn't give anything away since I was a horrible liar. But if Edward was involved with the pranks on the girls then I had to support them.

"How about we watch a movie?" Esme asked clapping her hands to get everyone's attention. When we were at Costco Alice bought a mid-sized television and DVD player for one cabin trying to justify that we would need entertainment for the week. No one argued against her about that.

"Well, we have to watch it over in the other cabin since Carlisle setup the television and DVD player over there," Esme continued as she started to gather her things to walk out of our cabin and into the opposite cabin.

I reached for my sleeping bag but Edward got there first and I grabbed my pillow. Most of the boys were helping out the girls as we trudged across the driveway into the other cabin and settled in.

"Cool, what did you guys get?" Emmett asked.

"The Shining, The Ring, The Exorcist, Paranormal Activity," Alice chimed.

"I like it, all scary movies!" Emmett boomed as Rose elbowed him in the stomach to get him to quiet down.

I cringed at all the scary movies we were about to watch but tried to suck it up. "Are you going to be okay about this?" Edward asked as he put his arm around my shoulder. He knew I hated scary movies.

"Yeah, I think I'll be okay," I snuggled into his side as we sat back against the bed. Everyone started to sit together in front of the television.

Alice popped in Paranormal Activity, which I really did not want to watch but I had to endure it to go along with the plan.

"You know, I did some googling on my iPhone about these cabins because I wanted to find out how old they were and they are really old." Stacy said as she hugged Jack tighter to her.

"What do you mean?" Mark asked.

"Well, they were built in the 1800's or something. I mean that's pretty old. I'm just scared that they could be haunted." Stacy buried her face deeper into Jack's chest.

"I don't believe in ghosts," Brian rolled his eyes as the rest of the guys agreed with him.

"Well, that's great because apparently, your cabin is the one that's haunted according to this," Jenny said as she took out her phone to show Brian what she found.

Jenny went on telling the history about the cabins and how the seller had tried to sell the cabins but no one would buy it because one of the cabins was haunted by spirits. That was why the seller never did anything to the cabins and left them in the state they were in when we got here.

Brian took her phone and read over the content. He handed it over to Scott and soon the guys were passing around Jenny's cell phone to look at the story she had found. The girls were freaking out and I just shivered under Edward as he hugged me tightly.

"Eh, whatever. Doesn't scare me," Emmett boomed. The rest of the guys chimed in and eventually we stopped talking about the story but focused on the movie.

We were already half way through the movie and it was freaking me out. I clutched tighter onto Edward.

"Um, Bella."

"Yeah?"

"Could you sort of relax a little bit? Um, your fingernails are digging into my arm," he whispered to me.

I instantly relaxed my grip on his arm and looked at him. "I'm so sorry."

He hugged me tighter and chuckled a little. "It's okay."

The room was quiet as we watched the movie intently and then I heard it. "Did you hear that?" I whispered to Edward.

He paused for a moment. "Hear what?"

The rest of the girls started whispering. "What was that?" Esme said as she grabbed onto Carlisle. Once Esme said something about the noise then all the guys started perking up.

Tap. Tap.

It was an irregular tapping noise that would stop and start again. "Maybe it's just the old pipes or something," Scott said trying to convince himself more than anyone.

We continued watching the movie as the tapping sound grew louder. "Tell me you can hear it now," I whispered to Edward.

He nodded but didn't say anything. I could see him glancing at Emmett and the other guys. They were doing some sort of mindspeak the way guys do when they were concerned about something and didn't want to scare girls. None of them did anything though as they focused their attention to the television.

The tapping stopped just as we finished Paranormal Activity. You could feel the anxiety in the air as we were all on edge. Alice popped in the Shining and Janet and Carrie made popcorn for everyone.

The tapping started again but wasn't too loud. Then just as we got into the Shining, my head was practically buried into Edward's chest and my hands were clutched tightly onto his hoodie that it was stretching it out.

We got to the part where Jack Nicholson starts to hack at the bathroom door with his axe when there was a loud knocking on the door. Everyone in the room screamed even the guys and I felt Edward's grip tighten on me.

"What was that?" Alice screamed.

The knocking continued. "There's someone at the door."

"Who would come up here and at this hour?" Rose whispered as she grabbed onto Emmett. It was around midnight now.

"Carlisle, who do you think that could be?" Esme said sounding concerned. Carlisle got up and walked toward the door. The rest of the guys tried to look out the window to see who it was.

"We can't see anything out there." Brian confirmed as he stepped away from the window.

"I don't think you should open the door, Mr. Cullen," Steve said with a hint of fear in his voice.

"Calm down, everyone. I'm sure it's nothing," Carlisle said as he opened the door but there was nothing there.

He stepped out onto the porch and looked around with Emmett and Scott behind him. He called out into the pitch darkness but there was nothing.

They all came back in and shut the door scratching their heads.

"You guys _heard_ the knocking right?" Annie squeaked.

Everyone nodded. "I'm scared," Alice said as she buried herself into Jasper's arms.

I was still clutched tightly onto Edward. "Please don't complain about me suffocating you because I'm really freaked out right now."

He ran his hand through my hair trying to calm me down and I could tell everyone else was spooked. We finished up the Shining and Mrs. Cullen told everyone that it was time to go bed. We started to collect our stuff to go back to the other cabin.

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" Edward asked as he looked down at me.

"I think I'll be okay." I gave him a hug as he leaned down to kiss me lightly on the cheek.

The rest of the girls got up and gathered their things as we started moving to the other cabin. Of course, after what happened with the tapping and knocking, Scott and Emmett went to check out our cabin to make sure it was safe before we all went in for the night.

As we said our goodnights, we went back into our cabin, climbed into our beds and turned off the lights.

"Okay everyone, ready for part two?" Jenny whispered in the dark.

"Did you see their faces earlier?" Rose tried to hold back her laughter.

"This is going to be so much fun," Carrie said.

About an hour later, we heard frantic knocking at our door. Esme got up from her bed throwing a robe around herself before she went to open the door.

"What's wrong?" she asked as some of us slowly got up to stare at the door while some of the others pretended to be asleep.

"This isn't funny anymore!" Emmett said frantically as Esme stepped aside to let him through the door.

"What are you talking about?" Alice mumbled in her sleep.

"We know you guys are doing this to us to get back at us," Brian shouted as he came into the room. He looked shocked as he counted all of us in our beds and looked at our sleeping forms.

"Thanks for waking me up, jackass!" Rose growled from her bed.

"Boys, what is going on?" Esme asked sounding tired.

"There was more tapping and knocking at the door and some rumbling in the walls. I think the heater went out because it's so cold in that stupid cabin and Scott swore he heard a little girl's voice calling his name," Emmett said.

"Are you freaking serious?" Kate shrieked from her bed. "The story Jenny found online said that the cabin was haunted by a little girl!"

Those of us who were awake started to look panicked and scared. "You mean, you guys don't have anything to do with it?" Brian asked slowly trying to keep himself calm.

"No!" Alice shrieked looking completely terrified. I had to admit she even had me fooled with her acting.

"No, the girls have nothing to do with it. We've all been in here trying to sleep. Now boys, I suggest you go back to your cabin and go back to sleep. I'm sure it's nothing. And did Carlisle check to see if the heater was broken?"

"He said it's working but it doesn't make sense. We're freezing in there!"

"Oh my God! Have you ever seen The Sixth Sense? They say that it gets cold when spirits are around. I'm so scared!" Janet added for the dramatics. The guys were completely clueless so I had to bite down on my tongue.

"We'll call someone to come and take a closer look at it in the morning. Now, calm down and go back to bed. You don't want to scare the girls even more," Esme said in her authoritative parent voice.

Whenever Esme spoke, none of the boys wanted to speak out against her so they kept quiet as she walked them over to the front door. The rest of the guys were staring at our cabin from their window. As Esme pushed them out the door they mumbled to themselves and scratched their heads. They made their way back into their cabin taking one last look at ours before closing their doors.

As the lights turned off in their cabin and all the figures disappeared back into bed, we threw our sleeping bags off and started to get up and out of our beds.

"That was so good! They don't have any idea that it's us." Jenny threw the covers off her and jumped out of bed.

We were all dressed in black as we gathered around the cabin. "Where are they?" Annie asked.

Jenny checked her cell phone. "They are still in their positions, the coast is clear. Let's go out and join them. Any minute now the boys will be screaming and running from their cabin and we won't want to miss it!"

Esme stayed behind in the cabin as the rest of us opened the door quietly hoping not to disturb anything and crawled out slowly. We walked around to the guys' cabin hiding in the bushes, hoping that they wouldn't see us.

We rounded the corner and saw a group of junior varsity cheerleaders huddled in a corner.

"Thanks for all your help with this, Nessie!" Jenny turned to a girl that looked familiar to me. She was the captain of the junior varsity cheerleading squad.

"No problem, Jenny. These guys totally deserve it after what they got the junior varsity teams to do to us at our slumber party. Here watch this," she pointed to a laptop that five other junior varsity cheerleaders were huddled around.

The laptop showed a direct video feed into the cabin. They were able to rig the cabin earlier when we were having dinner. It looked like a night vision feed into their cabin so we could see in the dark.

I could hear snoring and assumed it was Carlisle. He was part of it as well so I had a feeling he was trying to play like he was asleep.

"I don't understand. The girls aren't behind it. They were all sleeping when we walked into their cabin," Brian sighed pulling his blankets up to cover himself. All of the guys were bundled tightly in their sleeping bags hugging themselves for warmth.

"Maybe it is haunted?" Mark piped in but with a quiet voice.

"Maybe that's why it's so freaking cold," Jack paused.

"Janet said the exact same thing," Brian answered and I could picture him rolling his eyes in the dark.

"What haven't you ever seen The Sixth Sense?" Jack replied.

"Whatever, let's just go to sleep," Emmett voiced sounding annoyed but I could tell my brother was started to get freaked out. I had to cover my mouth to stop from laughing out loud.

"Emmett is so scared right now!" Rose whispered giving hi-fives to everyone.

Then I heard a familiar tapping sound. I looked around the cabin to see who was making the noise and saw one of the sophomore cheerleaders banging against a pipe. She smiled giving us a thumbs up sign.

Nessie nodded and then whispered to a brunette who was squatting down next to her. "You're on, Julie! Everyone get ready and hide."

Then Julie walked over to the cabin and started speaking in a really eerie voice. It almost spooked me to death just listening to her.

"Emmett," Julie moaned in a ghostly way.

We pressed ourselves deeper into the bushes as Emmett put his face up against the window. Just then, Nessie started rattling the bushes in front of her as the rest of the cheerleaders mimicked her actions.

"You guys, something is out there," Emmett whispered.

"What do you mean?" Edward said trying to peer through the window.

"I see something moving."

"What if it's a bear?" Steve said. "There could be bears up here. We are outdoors in the middle of the woods."

"Let's go check outside." Jasper said.

"No way, I'm not going out there. After the story that Jenny found, which I would never admit to any of the girls, but that scared the shit out of me," Garrett huffed.

Kate covered her mouth to stifle her giggles.

"Well something is out there. I think we should figure out what it is," Jack insisted.

"It doesn't explain why it's so freaking cold in here," Scott argued. Nessie and the girls apparently shut off the heat to the cabin.

"That won't explain it but at least we can figure out where the noises and the movement is coming from. Who wants to go out there with me?" Jasper asked.

Through the laptop we could see a few of them raise their hands and slowly get out of bed. They put on their sneakers and made their way to the front of the cabin. From their builds, I could see Jasper, Edward, Emmett, Brian and Jack grab a flashlight as they made their way to the front door.

Nessie made a signal to the rest of the girls as they each took a place underneath a window. They all moved quietly and stealthily through the dark. The rest of the guys got up from their beds and sat in front of the windows looking out to make sure nothing was there.

I could hear the front door open and footsteps walking around the porch. We rustled a few more bushes but stayed hidden against some of the trees. I could see a flashlight light up but immediately turn off.

"What the?" Emmett said shaking the flashlight.

"I thought the girls bought new batteries for these at Costco?" Brian tried to turn his flashlight on and off but it wasn't working.

"Yeah, I thought they did too," Edward said as we heard some of them take a few steps off the porch and toward our area.

"I don't see anything," Jasper said.

"I don't either." Edward sighed sounding frustrated.

"Well, I did watch this special on TV once on rituals that people do to ward off evil spirits," Jack offered to a wall of silence. The girls and I looked at each other with laughter in our eyes as we tried hard not to expose ourselves.

"You've got to be kidding me. You don't actually believe that this place is haunted, do you?" Brian questioned.

"Considering everything that has happened tonight, I really don't doubt it," Jack replied sounding confident.

"Yeah, I kind of have to agree with him," Edward responded though you can tell he was still unsure about things.

"We should go back inside. This is getting insane and there is nothing out here," Emmett whined.

Just as the boys turned to walk back inside the cabin, Julie spoke like she was singing a song.

"Jack, why don't you come out and play out with me?" Then she giggled one of those spooky giggles that you hear in scary ghost movies.

"Did you hear that?" Jack squeaked and looked around him as the rest of the guys huddled together in a group around the porch looking in all directions around them. We all clamped our hands over our mouths to avoid making any noises.

Nessie started to rustle some bushes as we followed her lead. "You heard me, Emmett. Don't you want to be my friend?" Julie moaned again.

"What's the dance, Jack? Teach us the freaking dance now!" Emmett yelled in fear.

Garrett banged against the window from inside the house screaming. "Teach it to them now!"

We could hear some movements and Jack whispering to the group specific dance moves. I tried to lift my head to get a better view as the other girls were mimicking my actions.

I could see Jack moving in a circle and waving his arms and starting to chant. The rest of the guys tried to do the same while copying Jack's movements. They looked like a bunch of monkeys trying to swing their arms up in the air.

I bit my tongue and clutched at my stomach as tears started to roll down my eyes. I eyed the rest of the girls and everyone was about to bust a gut. Nessie turned to us trying to quiet us down. We tried to take deep breaths to calm ourselves until Nessie gave us a signal counting down 1, 2 and 3. Then we jumped out of the bushes and yelled, "BOO!"

The guys on the front porch jumped and screamed as well as all the guys who stayed in the cabin since each of the cheerleaders popped into the windows with flashlights scaring them.

All of them wore shocked and surprised looks on their faces. And then their surprised looks changed to embarrassed looks for getting pranked on. The girls and I were rolling on the floor laughing at them.

"Payback's a bitch!" Jenny yelled.

"You guys were behind it the whole time?" Brian said pointing at all of us then glaring at Nessie and the cheerleaders.

We stood there with the junior varsity cheerleaders smiling brightly at them as we hi-fived each other.

"That's what you get for being behind Seth's team for pranking us!" Nessie yelled.

"That was priceless! Emmett you were so scared!" Rose said bursting into a fit of giggles.

"Teach us the freaking dance now!" I mimicked in Emmett's voice as all of us collapsed in laughter. Emmett narrowed his eyes at me looking pissed off.

"Okay fine, you got us this time. But don't forget we still have five more days here," Emmett threatened.

"I don't think you can top what we just did but you can sure try!" Stacy shouted and winked at them.

"You guys are definitely going to be sorry!" Brian yelled.

We were definitely in for a long week.

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**A/N: Hope you liked it! Those guys deserved a good scare!**

**One more chapter left! **


	36. Time of Your Life

**A/N: Now, here is the last chapter for Ridge Crest Prep. I am warning you now that I didn't want to drag this story along further (though I started feeling like I've been dragging it on for awhile now). This sort of sums up everything for the entire story. I know it's sort of a cop out way but I honestly haven't had the time to write as much as I thought and I don't want to leave people hanging so it's an ending. Albeit, not a great one but hopefully something to satisfy the curiosity. Thanks for still sticking by me if you're still reading this! **

**Also not beta'ed. Sorry for any mistakes!  
**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or Ally McBeal. I do own the storyline and any characters that I make up.**

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**Chapter 36 – Time of Your Life**

Time of Your Life by Green Day

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After our long week in the woods, we arrived back to the campus parking lot in the midst of a frenzy. There were a few police cars parked outside of the dorms and there was a large crowd gathered around as everyone was just coming back from spring break.

I chanced a glance at Edward as he parked my car. "What do you think that's all about?"

He shrugged his shoulders. Alice jumped up from being asleep and plastered herself to the window. "What is it? What's going on?"

"I don't know but let's find out," Jasper said as he opened the car door and got out. The rest of our friends gathered around the group just as we saw Maria getting escorted by the police and into an awaiting police car. My mouth dropped open in shock.

She was struggling against them screaming. "My father will hear about this! I am innocent! Innocent!"

The policeman that was escorting her mumbled something as he shoved her in the back seat and slammed the door cutting off her rants.

Principal Walker and Ms. Dalton came out to disperse the crowd saying that everything was fine and telling everyone to go back to their dorms.

Everyone frowned at each other not being able to find out what happened.

"What do you think happened?" Rose asked.

"Oh I know what happened." Emmett gave everyone a big smirk looking proud that he was aware of what was going on.

"Please do enlighten us, oh great one," Brian teased.

"Tanya happened."

"What?" We all froze and responded in unison.

"Oh, don't be so surprised. The girl has her sources and while we were on our raffle date she told me that she found some interesting information about Maria and that she was planning to tell Principal Walker to do a routine drug test for the dorms during spring break. I guess you can say she succeeded with what happened back there," Emmett beamed.

"You knew about this the whole time while we were in Mammoth but you didn't bother telling any of us?" Rose smacked his arm.

"Ow, Rosie. It was supposed to be a secret." Emmett rubbed his arm.

"I'm actually surprised he kept his mouth shut," I muttered under my breath earning a glare from Emmett and a suppressed laugh from Edward.

The rest of the group stared at Emmett in shock.

"But how did you get her to tell you that? She doesn't tell anyone anything except for when it's written in her column," Jasper asked.

"Let's just say I have my ways," Emmett wriggled his eyebrows.

We rolled our eyes and went to unpack our cars. I could see Jasper and Alice chatting about it in the corner and it felt like a big weight was lifted off our shoulders. Maria was finally gone and everyone was curious as to what exactly they found in her room.

As school started back up after spring break, we got the full scoop from Tanya's column. It turned out that Maria had a rather large stash of narcotics in her room. She became the main source for all the stoners on campus and a few others that were close to going to rehab for drugs other than pot. With Maria gone, things went back to normal. There was no longer a lingering threat of Jasper-napping.

One nice surprise that was waiting for me when I got back to the dorms was my acceptance packet to Stanford. Apparently, it was lost in the mail and someone else had received it incorrectly sending it back to me. It just took awhile for me to get it since it was routing through all the mail systems.

I had to pinch myself a million times until my arm turned bright red to make sure that I wasn't dreaming. And after that I busted my way to Edward's dorm and pretty much kicked his door down scaring him in the process.

The months flew by quickly after that. Prom came and went and luckily this time it wasn't for a grade. We had a normal Prom like any other school though I'd like to think it was normal. The guys had this sort of on-going competition to beat each other in who could find the coolest and most unique way to ask someone to Prom.

Jack hired a sky writer to ask Stacey. Jasper asked Alice with a cryptic message through the school newspaper. Steve had the cheerleaders help him form a pyramid and held up signs to ask Jenny. Emmett had the junior varsity baseball team spell out Prom on the field during half time at one of their games to ask Rose.

It was all very romantic and cute though it was all done in front of large crowds. Edward knew that I wasn't a fan of large crowds so he asked me privately just when it was the two of us. He tricked me into thinking that he wanted me to read over his English homework assignment when it turned out to be a poem that he wrote to ask me. It was cute and sweet and I wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

Alice insisted on making our dresses for Prom so I didn't argue with her. When I thought that our school made a big deal out of Homecoming and Winter Formal, they actually made a bigger deal out of Prom. Jack and Stacey ended up winning Prom Queen and Prom King, which was a huge relief to Edward and I. He was happy that he went through his senior year without actually winning anything and I joked that it was because I gave him bad luck. He definitely wasn't having that but after reminding him about all the embarrassing moments we had throughout the year, he finally stopped arguing with me and accepted it.

Alice ended up getting into the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, which was her dream school. We were sad that we were going to be on opposite sides of the country but I was really excited for her. Jasper, decided to go to Columbia, which is also in New York. He said it was because they had a good History program that focused on the Civil War but I knew it was because he wanted to stay close to her. Edward was happy knowing that there was someone that was going to be nearby to watch over her.

Emmett was probably the most excited one of us all as he was recruited by USC and joined their football team. He finally made the grades and was able to graduate with the rest of us. He barged into our room wanting to share the good news one early morning but ended up scaring us to death. Rose and I started screaming thinking it was a raving lunatic at our door. After a bear hug and choking, he told me again that I was his favorite sister.

Rose was going to USC with Emmett to study mechanical engineering. She couldn't be apart from him and vowed to help keep his grades up so that he could at least graduate college.

Jenny ended up getting in to Stanford too and decided to go there with Edward and I. We decided to room together our freshman year which was nice since she became one of my best friends.

Steve got into UC Berkeley, which meant that he would be close by and we would definitely be seeing him around.

Everyone else was scattered around the US, off to explore a new world and to make new friendships.

After Prom, finals crept up and then it was finally graduation day as I stood in my room, which was mostly packed up in boxes. My wall of pictures was the last thing I wanted to pack away since I wanted to commit each one to memory.

The first picture I eyed was one of Rose and Emmett moving into the dorms. Without Rose and Emmett here during my senior year, I don't know where I would be. I wouldn't have made new friends without their support and constant encouragement. I wouldn't even have a boyfriend for not speaking up and coming out of my shell.

As I ran my eyes through the pictures, I went through all of the photos from my workdays with Jasper in the bookstore to photos of us in the newspaper office and even a picture of us with Tanya. She actually turned out to be nice though she kept a lot of things to herself until she would publish it. I had no doubt she would eventually work for a tabloid magazine in the future.

My eyes fell upon a hidden photo and I wondered what it was. I reached up and pulled it out realizing why I had hidden it. I was wearing the infamous Princess Leia bikini at the car wash. I quickly put it away in one of my boxes hoping to hide it from view. I looked up at the wall again and saw photos from the bonfire with everyone gathered around Brian singing.

I eyed a picture of Edward and I at Homecoming dressed in the 40's costumes that Alice made for us. My heart flipped remembering the night we first kissed and became stuck to the hip.

There was another cluster of pictures from Halloween, especially one with me posing with Jasper dressed in his Flintstones Barney dress. I would definitely never forget that or let him live that one down.

The pictures from Winter Formal looked just like a 1950's yearbook with the vintage styling and the black and white photos. Edward looked amazing that night and I had wished we got to enjoy it more than we did. I would never regret rescuing Jasper though and glad we were there to help him when he needed us.

There were tons of pictures from our beach outings to our fun filled spring break. The pranks never stopped and the laughs just kept continuing throughout the week. The best picture from that week was the picture of Emmett bathing in a kiddie pool filled with tomato juice. I laughed out loud when my eyes rested on that photo.

There were tons of pictures of Edward and I from all of our dances and dates. And a lot of new pictures from Prom with everyone wearing normal dresses.

I looked back at the entire year posted on my wall and didn't have the heart to pull them down to put them away. I knew I had to clean it up but maybe after the graduation ceremony.

A whole year had passed at Ridge Crest Prep. Time flew by and I wished that I was back to the first day of school rather than the last. I didn't think I would ever say this but I didn't want it to end. I came out of my shell. I made new friends. I found love. Overall, I had fun and loved every minute of it.

I heard a knock on the door. "Come in!" I yelled as I continued to stare at the photos.

I felt two strong hands settle on my shoulders. "Are you ready?" he whispered into my ear causing my heart to race.

I turned around to face him as I caught sight of him wearing the same dark blue graduation gown that I was wearing and I looked up into the green eyes that I adored.

I pulled him close to me and kissed him deeply. He pressed his hand against my back and held me closer to him. I slowly pulled away taking a deep breath before answering his question.

"Ready."

I gave him a big smile before grabbing his hands and squeezing them tightly. He looked slightly dazed as I pulled him out of the room and out onto the football stadium where everyone was gathering for the big ceremony. The sounds from the stadium was growing louder and the teachers were gathering everyone to stand in line.

I stopped walking taking in everything before me then I felt a strong pinch in my right arm.

"Ow!" I yelped turning to look at who pinched me. "What was that for?"

"Oh, sorry, Bella! I thought you were day dreaming again. Just wanted to make sure you weren't spacing out! We're about to graduate!" Alice chirped pulling me into a hug before running off to join Jasper.

I shook my head laughing at her as she ran off waving at us. I definitely wasn't dreaming this time but it was funny how it became second nature to everyone around me to snap me out of my dreams. I wasn't _that_ bad, was I?

I looked up at the stadium as Edward turned to look at me. He gave my hand a little squeeze letting me know that he understood exactly what I was feeling. Then he gave me my favorite smile, the crooked grin that I always loved as we walked to join our friends and the entire senior class at Ridge Crest.

I knew at that moment that no matter what my future entailed that I was ready for the next chapter of my life and I was thankful that I really did have the time of my life at Ridge Crest Prep.

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**THE END**

A/N: That is the end of Ridge Crest Prep. I wanted to take Bella's story until the end of graduation and here we are. I wanted to truly THANK YOU for those that stuck with me. It's been a long time and I am truly sorry for making you wait. I want to thank each and every one of you who reviewed and read this story! I hope it made you laugh because that was what I really wanted this story to do.

I will not be writing an Epilogue for this. And in case you're wondering, I skipped out on Prom because really, I've written on Homecoming and Winter Formal. I didn't think I needed to touch on Prom too!

Thank you to **SavageWoman**, my beta, who helped me with a great amount this story and endless amounts of discussions/ideas/funny things. Thank you to** Lili26** for translating this into French and for sticking by my lazy ass and continuing to finish translating it to the end. Thank you both for your support and for your encouragement!

I am fiddling with a bunch of other story ideas that are filtering through my head but I promise the next time I post a story, I will have it all done before posting. It's just easier this way.

Thanks again everyone! You guys have truly been great supporters! Thank you for reading this and for all your reviews and for sticking by me! I hope you enjoyed this story!

-Stephanie


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